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ADelhi Special court onWednesday awarded life

imprisonment to Kashmiri ter-rorist Yasin Malik in a terrorfunding case.

Special Judge PraveenSingh also awarded varying jailterms for various offencesunder the stringent UnlawfulActivities Prevention Act(UAPA) and the Indian PenalCode (IPC). The court alsoimposed a fine of over �10 lakhon Malik.

The life term was awardedfor two offences — Section 121(waging war against theGovernment of India) of theIPC and section 17 (raisingfunds for the terrorist act) ofthe UAPA. All the sentenceswill run concurrently.

Earlier in the day, theNational Investigation Agency(NIA) during the argument onquantum of sentence demand-ed death sentence for Malik,highlighting crimes and ter-rorism he committed inKashmir for the past threedecades. “Let’s not go into allthis. Stick to the facts. This isa terror funding case,” saidJudge Singh, who deliveredthe judgment by 6.15 pm.

“However, in my opinion,there was no reformation ofthis convict. It may be correct

that the convict may have givenup the gun in 1994, but he hadnever expressed any regret forthe violence he had committedprior to 1994.

“It is noticed that, when heclaimed to have given up thepath of violence after 1994, theGovernment of India took itupon its face value and gavehim an opportunity to reformand in good faith tried toengage in a meaningful dia-logue with him and as admit-ted by him, gave him everyplatform to express his opin-ion.

“However, as discussed inthe order on charge, the con-vict did not desist from vio-lence. Rather, betraying thegood intentions of theGovernment he took a differ-ent path to orchestrate violencein the guise of political strug-gle. The convict has claimedthat he had followed Gandhianprinciple of non-violence andwas spearheading a peacefulnon violent struggle.

“However, the evidenceon the basis of which chargeswere framed and to whichconvict has pleaded guilty,speaks otherwise.

“The entire movement wasplanned to be a violent move-ment and large-scale violenceensured is a matter of fact,” saidthe judgment convicting Malikto life imprisonment.

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Cricketer-turned-politicianNavjot Singh Sidhu is all

set to play a new innings inPatiala Central Jail. Once con-sidered a frontrunner for thePunjab Chief Minister’s post,the multi-faceted Sidhu willbe playing the role of a “mun-shi” (a clerical job) within thefour walls of the PatialaCentral Jail, after he was sen-tenced to a year’s rigorousimprisonment by theSupreme Court in a 1988road rage case.

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In one of the worst schoolshootings in the US, an 18-

year-old gunman in bodyarmour massacred at least 21people, including 19 childrenand two adults inside one class-room at a Texas elementaryschool, prompting PresidentJoe Biden to issue an emotion-al appeal to lawmakers to “turnthis pain into action” to enacttougher gun laws to curb suchrecurring tragedies.

The youth opened fire atRobb Elementary School inUvalde town, Texas, 134 kmfrom San Antonio, on Tuesdaymorning before he was killedby law enforcement officers.

All fatalities and injuriestook place inside one classroomUvalde, according to Lt ChrisOlivarez, spokesperson for theTexas Department for PublicSafety.

The shooter barricadedhimself in one room, killingtwo teachers and 19 children,he told CNN.

“Just goes to show you thecomplete evil from this shoot-er,” Olivarez said, just 10 dayssince 10 people were killed ina mass shooting in New York.

All the victims have beenremoved, identified and their

families have been notified, thelieutenant said. Multiple chil-dren were wounded inside theclassroom, according toOlivarez, but there is no exactnumber as to how many at thistime.

“It’s a small classroom,you can have anywhere from25 to 30 students in there, plusthere were two teachers inthere. ... So don’t have exactnumber of how many stu-dents were in that classroom,”Olivarez said.

When asked if the schoolwas a target, Olivarez saidthere are still “a lot of unan-swered questions.”

Investigators say the sus-pect was armed with a hand-gun, an AR-15 semi-automat-ic rifle and high-capacity mag-

azines.Texas Governor Greg

Abbott identified the killer asSalvador Ramos, a resident ofthe area where the school waslocated. The shooter’s motiveremains unclear. The teenag-er is suspected of shooting hisgrandmother at the start of therampage, US media reportssaid.

Chief of Police, Uvalde,Pete Arredondo said the “masscasualty event occurred atRobb Elementary School atabout 11:32 this morning”. Hesaid the killer acted as a lonewolf — who was shot dead ina police exchange.

The deceased children arein the second, third and fourthgrades — aged between 7years and 10 years, he said.

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Former Union Minister andsenior Supreme Court

lawyer Kapil Sibal filed hisnomination papers for the RajyaSabha seat from Uttar Pradeshas an Independent candidatebacked by the Samajwadi Partyand said he has already resignedfrom the Congress. Javed AliKhan also filed his papers as SPcandidate. There was specula-tion that the SP could field Sibalas a Rajya Sabha candidate.

Kapil Sibal — the lawyerwho secured senior SP leaderMohammad Azam Khan’s bailfrom the SC — after filing hispapers, said he had resignedfrom the Congress on May 16.Sibal said his ideology wasrelated to the party he hadbeen with for three decades. Hisexit from the party is anotherjolt to the electorally batteredCongress.

Sibal was accompanied bySP chief Akhilesh Yadav and SP

general secretary Ram GopalYadav to Central Hall of UPVidhan Bhawan.

“I have filed the nominationas an independent candidate. Ithank Akhilesh for supportingme. I resigned from theCongress on May 16 and am nolonger a senior Congress leader,”

he said.The SP chief later said Sibal

was being supported by the SP.A prominent member of theG23 which had sought anorganisational overhaul in theCongress, Sibal’s tenure asCongress’ Rajya Sabha memberends in July.

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Life has come a full circle forchief of the banned Jammu

and Kashmir Liberation Front(JKLF) Yasin Malik , whograduated from being aPakistan-trained terrorist to aseparatist force in the Kashmirvalley during his anti-Indiacareer spanning over three

decades.On Wednesday, Malik, 56,

was sentenced to a life term bya designated NIA court.

He has been in and out ofjail several times dating back tohis student activism daysbefore the onset of militancy inJ&K in 1990.

In his bid to mainstreamhimself, he “renounced” vio-lence and donned the political

cloak in 1994. Malik — mar-ried to a Pakistani artist — hadannounced Gandhian way ofprotest after his release andsought to project himself as amoderate voice in separatistcamp.

Malik was arrested in early2019 in connection with a2017 terror-funding case reg-istered by NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA).

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Barely hours after Kashmiriseparatist Yasin Malik was

awarded life imprisonment bythe NIA court in a terror fund-ing case, a famous KashmiriTV artist and singer AmreenaBhat was gunned down by“unidentified” terrorists whileher 10-year-old nephewreceived bullet injuries on hisarm in Chadoora area of cen-tral Kashmir district ofBudgam on Wednesday.

Amreena was a famousTV artist and singer. Sheappeared in many music videosand small skits uploaded on thesocial media platforms.

According to initial reportsboth Amreena and her nephew

were targeted at their home inChadoora by the armed ter-rorists.

In a tweet Kashmir zonepolice said, “Around 7.55 pm,terrorists fired upon one ladyAmreen Bhat daughter ofKhazir Mohd Bhat and residentof Hushroo Chadoora at herhome. She was shifted to hos-pital in an injured conditionwhere doctors declared her

dead. Her 10-year-old nephewwho was also at home receiveda bullet injury on his arm.”

According to preliminaryreports three terrorists of LeTterror outfit were involved inthis heinous terror incident.

The security forces havelaunched a massive manhunt totrack down the foot prints ofLeT terrorists.

“The local police team hasregistered a case and alsolaunched investigations in thecase,” official sources said.

Reacting to the murder,former J&K Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah tweeted,“Shocked & deeply saddenedby the murderous militantattack on Ambreen Bhat. SadlyAmbreen lost her life in theattack & her nephew wasinjured. There can be no justi-fication for attacking innocentwomen & children like this.”

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DEHRADUN | THURSDAY | MAY 26, 2022uttarakhand 02

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GUEST COLUMNBlue economy projects need fast trackingto mitigate climate change disruptions

The significance of the blueeconomy as one of the key

strategic imperatives for thesustainable social and eco-nomic advancement of Indiahas been well recognised by across section of decision mak-ers in the country.Unfortunately, the idearemains largely unknown tothe coastal community in gen-eral and other stakeholdersincluding the potentialinvestors. This calls for urgentsteps to broad-base the blueeconomy concepts, particu-larly among the coastal com-munity facing the twin threatsof spatial dislocation and liveli-hood loss on account of thedevastations caused by cli-mate change.

The vast coastal stretch ofIndia, including the top com-mercial metropolises andcities, are under the shadow ofthe fallout from the risingsurface temperature inArabian Sea and Bay ofBengal. The metropolis ofMumbai and other key citieson the west coast and Kolkataand other cities on the eastcoast are facing short-term andlong-term vulnerabilities, sayexperts. The importance of theblue economy in reducing the

climate change fallout andestablishing the standard oper-ating principles for risk miti-gation have been gainingacceptance across the world.The need of the hour is to ini-tiate region specific systemsand practices that wouldempower the local communi-ty to face the threats posed byspatial dislocation and liveli-hood loss.

Professor Gunter Puali, inhis book ‘Blue Economy’ pub-lished in 2010 expressed theultimate aim that the blueeconomy business model willshift society from scarcity toabundance with what is local-ly available by tackling issuesthat cause environmental andrelated problems in new ways.The Policy Framework onIndia's Blue Economy pre-pared by the EconomicAdvisory Council (EAC) toPrime Minister NarendraModi assumes significance inthis background. A broaderdiscussion of the policy frame-work among the stakeholderswill go a long way in fast track-ing and broad basing ourunderstandings of the sectorand devising actionable solu-tions to achieve the strategicobjectives delineated in theframework. The EAC identi-fied the following areas as thekey sectors for value additionfrom the blue economy-coastal manufacturing andservices, maritime trade, ship-ping, offshore and coastalenergy, deep sea minerals,aquaculture and fisheries, andmarine-related technologies.The EAC further prioritisedthe areas and appointed work-ing groups to study and rec-ommend actionable solutions.

The seven priority areasidentified were- 1: national

accounting framework for blueeconomy and ocean gover-nance, 2: coastal marine spa-tial planning and tourism, 3:marine fisheries, aquacultureand fish processing, 4: manu-facturing, emerging indus-tries, trade, technology, ser-vices and skill development, 5:logistics, infrastructure andshipping (including trans-shipments), 6: coastal anddeep-sea mining and offshoreenergy, 7: security, strategicdimensions and internationalengagement.

The working groups pre-pared the reports in theirrespective areas by taking intoaccount the following points-overview of the sector/subject,existing policies and regula-tions, the global scenario forthe sector, suggestions forshort and medium term strate-gies, assessment of challengesin each sector, role of the gov-ernment and the private sec-tor and policy recommenda-tions.

The EAC policy frameworkon blue economy was notsomething that happened sud-denly. It was part of an ongo-ing process. The Vision 2030prepared by the UnionGovernment in 2019 hasplaced blue economy in sixthplace out of the 10 core sectorsidentified for growth. Thepositioning appears appropri-ate given the unique mar-itime status of the country witha 7,517 kilometre coastline.The spatial dimension ofIndia's coastline covers nineStates and 1,382 islands. TheEAC framework further elu-cidates the significance of themaritime character of thecountry with the followingbasic details. "The countryhas 12 major ports and 187

non-major ports, handlingabout 1,400 million tonnes ofcargo every year, as 95 per centof India’s trade by volumetransits by sea. India’s ExclusiveEconomic Zone of over twomillion square kilometres isrich in living and non-livingresources and holds significantrecoverable resources of crudeoil and of recoverable naturalgas. The coastal economy alsosustains over four million fish-ermen and other coastal com-munities. With these vast mar-itime interests, the blue econ-omy in India has a vital rela-tionship with the nation’s eco-nomic growth.”

The strategic imperative ofdeveloping the blue economyas one of the key pillars ofIndia's sustainable growth isevident from these factors. AsI have mentioned in a previousarticle, the importance of theblue economy has alreadygained wide acceptance amongthe policy makers. Maybe thesector is likely to be designat-ed as a priority sector soon.The role of the State govern-ments becomes very critical atthis juncture as they wouldhave to prepare actionableprojects in tune with the EAC'spolicy framework. TheSagarmala project has alreadyinitiated such a process withmany State governmentspreparing projects for thedevelopment of coastal infra-structure including ports androad networks.

A similar initiative has to bedeveloped in areas of aqua-culture and mariculture withthe participation of Unionand State Government agen-cies and the entrepreneurs.The Kings Infra Venture hasinitiated the process by team-ing with select universities for

developing aquaculture andmariculture models that couldbe replicated in different agro-climatic conditions with thenecessary modifications.Going forward the companywould be sharing the specificdetails of these initiatives.

The role of the blue econo-my for sustainable growth andfood security has been recog-nised in the advancedeconomies of the world. TheOrganisation of EconomicCooperation andDevelopment (OECD) hasprojected (pre-pandemic) theblue economy to grow at dou-ble the rate of the rest of theworld economy. An OECDreport has suggested that"ocean based industry global-ly could double in size fromUS$ 1.5 trillion in global valueadded in 2010 to US$ 3 trillionin 2030." It has further men-tioned that "marine aquacul-ture, marine capture fisheries,marine fish processing, off-shore wind and port activitieswere seen as having the poten-tial to outperform the globaleconomy.”

The disruptions caused bythe pandemic are likely toimpact these projections in theshort-term but the long-termoutlook remains optimisticand bullish. We should alsokeep in mind that "conserveand sustainably use the oceans,seas and marine resources forsustainable development" isone of the United NationsSustainable DevelopmentGoals.

(The author is the chairmanof Kings Infra Ventures Limitedwho also writes on the blueeconomy and sustainable foodproduction system. Viewsexpressed are personal)

Lakshya Sen U'khand'syouth icon- Governor

The governor ofUttarakhand lieutenant

general (retd) Gurmit Singhfelicitated badminton starLakshya Sen at Raj Bhawan onWednesday. He congratulatedSen and for Thomas Cup winand presented a memento.

Speaking on the occasion,the governor said that Sen’sfeat has proved that the youthof Uttarakhand can achieveany goal. He said that Sen’sachievement proves that thereis now dearth of talent inUttarakhand.

The governor said that theyoungsters should understandthat there is no shortcut to suc-cess. Giving the example of Senhe said that he has achievedsuccess after the dedicationand hard work of his fatherand grandfather. Referring toSen as the youth icon ofUttarakhand, the governorcongratulated his parents andsaid that they were instru-mental in his success.

Addressing the gatheringSen said that the Thomas Cupsuccess is inspirational for all.

He said, “As a child I used tothink that if others can achievesuccess then why can't I? Akept concentrating on thisidea and played badmintonwith big players. This helpedme in winning the ThomasCup for the country,’’ he said.Narrating his experience andthe role of other team mem-bers, Sen said that the wholeteam was confident that thecountry should win. Giving amessage to the youth of thestate, he said that everything ispossible if true efforts are

made after setting goals foroneself.

D K Sen, the father of theshuttler, expressed his desire toset up a badminton academyin the state and demanded thatthe Almora badminton courtshould be named after thegrandfather of Sen who was afamous player.

The president ofUttarakhand BadmintonAssociation, Alaknanda Ashokand others were present on theoccasion.

Shaji Baby John

CEO’s inspection revealsanomalies in Kotdwar schools

The Pauri chief education officer Anand Bharadwaj sealed the storeroomof Scholar Academy in Kotdwar, in which books, school bags and uni-

forms were stored for selling to students. He also instructed Heritage Academyin Kotdwar to get the NOC from the State government in the prescribedduration failing which the letter will be dispatched to CBSE for cancella-tion of affiliation. The CEO inspected these schools on Wednesday actingon complaints received regarding private schools in Kotdwar. According tosources, complaints had been made to the CM’s office and the district mag-istrate about some schools running without accreditation, charging high feesand selling books, bags and uniforms at high prices. CEO Bharadwaj inspect-ed Heritage Academy and found that the institution was running withoutthe NOC of the State government. He directed the school officials to securethe NOC from the State government on time, failing which the departmentwill recommend cancellation of the school’s CBSE affiliation. While inspect-ing Scholar Academy, Bharadwaj found books, bags and uniforms for saleto students in the storeroom. The Education department had prohibitedschools from selling books, uniforms and other items to students. The storewas sealed in the presence of the Dugadda block education officer.

Become tech savvy, post updates onactivities- PurushottamPNS DEHRADUN

Exhorting the officers of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries departments to becometech- savvy, the Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives secretary, and project

director of State Integrated Cooperative Development project BVRC Purushottamsaid that they should post regular tweets about the activities of their departments.Chairing a review meeting of the Uttarakhand Sheep and Wool Development Boardand the Fisheries department, he directed the officers to prepare weekly chartsof their activity and post the works done by them on the Twitter handle on a dailybasis, also tagging the departmental minister, NCDC and him. He said that theState Integrated Cooperative Development project is funding the two departmentsat the village and Nyay Panchayat level. Sheep and Wool Development board pro-ject director Avnish Anand said that 'goat valleys' are being set up in Almora,Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pauri and Rudraprayag districts. Under the project everyfarmer can rear 25 goats each. Purushottam said the help of National Bank forAgriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) should be taken for construc-tion of major structures in the proposed goat valleys. Fisheries project directorHK Purohit said that seven cooperative committees of the state have been asso-ciated with the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and under it digging workfor three ponds in Haridwar district is going on. The secretary also asked aboutthe steps being taken by the department to reduce the market price of Trout fish.

uttarakhand 03

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5 pilgrims from West Bengal& local driver killed in mishapJeep transporting pilgrims towards Gangotrifalls off road & catches fire at Kandisaur

Five persons from WestBengal and the driver of

the jeep they were travelling intowards Gangotri died afterthe vehicle fell off the road anddown the mountainside nearKandisaur Tehsil of Tehri dis-trict on Wednesday. All the sixpersons died on the spot andtheir bodies were charred dueto the vehicle catching fire

after the mishap. The Tehridistrict magistrate has ordereda magisterial inquiry into themishap.

According to sources, thedriver of a Bolero jeep beingdriven from Rishikesh to Ut-tarkashi lost control of the ve-hicle at Kotigad nearKandisaur at about 3:30 PM

on the Chamba-Dharasustretch of NH 94. The jeepalso caught fire after fallingdown the mountainside. Thelocal residents who had spot-ted the mishap occurringreached the site and extin-guished the fire. The local ad-ministration was alsoinformed about the accidentafter which the police, admin-

istration and 108 ambulanceservice reached the accidentsite. Meanwhile, chief ministerPushkar Singh Dhami ex-pressed grief at the mishap.On learning about it, he di-rected officials to take neces-sary action swiftly.

The Tehsildar Kishan SinghMahant informed that a totalof six persons were in the jeepwhen it met with the accident.The ill-fated jeep was carryingpart of a group of pilgrimswho were also travelling inother vehicles. The othermembers of the group of pil-grims also reached the site onlearning about the accident.The authorities had sent thebodies to the Kamand hospitalfor post mortem examinationfrom where the bodies wouldbe handed over to the othermembers of the group. Thosekilled in the mishap have beenidentified as the driver,Mukhba village (Uttarkashi)resident Ashish (35), WestBengal residents Pradeep Das(47), Nilesh Bhuniya (23),Madan Mohan Bhuniya (61),Jhumur Bhuniya (59) and De-vmalya Devnath (43).

Health issues of CharDham pilgrims risedue to snowfall & rain

The snowfall and rain inChar Dham has created

health issues for pilgrims vis-iting these shrines in the highaltitude regions with the doc-tors and paramedical staff onYatra duty doing their bit totackle this challenge. Accord-ing to official sources, onWednesday 1,076 pilgrims onKedarnath pilgrimage weretreated at various treatmentunits with 251 of these per-sons being given life savingtreatment in emergency situa-

tions. Seven pilgrims were re-ferred to higher centre whilethree of them were trans-ported safely by helicopterfrom Kedarnath. Healthscreening of 2,273 pilgrimswas conducted while 56 wereprovided oxygen support dur-ing this pilgrimage. TheRudraprayag chief medical of-ficer informed that due to rainand snowfall in the Kedar val-ley, most of the patients reach-ing the Linchauli hospitalwere afflicted by hypothermia.The CMO said that the heli-

copter service is proving to bea boon for seriously ill pil-grims. So far, 29 pilgrims weretaken by helicopter and 105were taken by ambulance tohigher centre for treatment.Inclement weather is alsocausing inconvenience in thepilgrimage to Yamunotri andGangotri. The Health depart-ment conducted healthscreening of 9,572 pilgrims atvarious places while four pil-grims were sent back from theYatra ahead. On Wednesday,

52 patients were provided lifesaving treatment on these pil-grimages. Similarly, 185 pil-grims underwent healthscreening at various locationson the pilgrimage to Badri-nath and Hemkund Sahib.Further, 31 pilgrims were pro-vided emergency treatmentwhile seven were referred tohigher centre. According toinformation received from thedistricts in which the CharDham shrines are located,1,16,957 pilgrims have so farundergone health screening.

Committed todevelopment ofborder areas- CMFlags off adventure MTBrally in Gunji, Pithoragarh

The chief minister PushkarSingh Dhami has said that

the state government is com-mitted for strengthening therural and border areas of thestate and reducing the menaceof migration. He was address-ing a gathering at Gunji vil-lage, Dharchula inPithoragarh district onWednesday after flagging offthe ‘Tour De Kailash’, the ad-venture MTB cycle rally. Theevent is being organised underAzadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav tocelebrate 75 years of inde-pendence of the country. Healso flagged off a rafting con-tingent for Kutti and Yangtirivers on the occasion.Welcoming the participants ofthe cycle rally, the CM saidthat apart from adventure theywould get a chance to viewbreathtaking natural beauty ofUttarakhand. He opined thatsuch events would help thepeople of other states to knowabout the border areas and thestate and would generate em-ployment. Dhami said that theadventure sports would in-crease the footfall in the bor-der areas and augment theincome of home stay, taxi,hotel owners and guides.

The CM said that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hassaid that the third decade of21st century would belong toUttarakhand. The State gov-ernment is working dedicat-edly for all-round

development of the State toachieve the goal set by the PM.Expressing gratitude to PMModi, the CM said that underhis leadership projects worthcrores of rupees are going onin the state. “It is our endeav-our that more and more homestays are made in the statewhich would create employ-ment opportunities for localsand help the tourist in under-standing our culture,’’ he said.

The CM said that the underBharatmala project the roadconnectivity to the borderareas has increased and itwould usher in all-round de-velopment in the area. Dhamiadded the policies of Unionand State governments arebeing made to provide benefitto the person standing last onthe ladder of the society.

He added that the CharDham Yatra is now at its peak.He again appealed to the pil-grims having health issuesthat they should not come forthe Yatra now. Appreciatingthe event the CM said that thiswill help in increasing em-ployment opportunities andreducing migration.

The Pradhan of Gunji,Suresh Gunjyal, district mag-istrate Ashish Chauhan, offi-cers and personnel of IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP),Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB),Army and others were presenton the occasion.

PNS DEHRADUN

AAP terms Colonel Kothiyal anopportunist who prefers power

Accusing colonel (retd)Ajay Kothiyal of being an

opportunist who left the partywhich gave high-est honour tohim, the Uttarak-hand unit of AamAadmi Party(AAP) has saidthat Kothiyal haschosen the easypath to power.The state con-venor of Uttarak-hand AAP, JotSingh Bisht saidthat AAP hadmade Kothiyal itschief ministerialcandidate considering his pastas an armed forces personnel.He said that the party gavesupreme honour to Kothiyal,made him the CM candidate

and placed thousands of hisposters in different parts ofthe State. Bisht said that it is

unfortunate that instead ofshowing the determination ofa leader, Kothiyal left theparty at the time when it wasnursing from the defeat it suf-

fered in all the 70 Assemblyseats of the state. “He shouldhave toured the State exten-sively and boosted the moraleof the party workers in all theconstituencies but instead ofchoosing the path of struggle,colonel Kothiyal took the easypath to power,’’ he said.

“ The CM face ofthe AAP in the re-

cent Assemblyelections recentlyjoined the BJP ”Coming down heavily on

Kothiyal for listing the short-comings of AAP at the time of

joining BJP on Tuesday, theState convenor of AAP saidthat it would be interesting tonote how much freedomKothiyal gets to express hisideas. He opined that whileAAP is a truly democraticparty dictatorship prevails inthe BJP.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that Kothiyal who wasthe chief ministerial candidateof the AAP in the recentlyconcluded Assembly electionsditched the party and joinedBJP with hundreds of his sup-porters in presence of chiefminister Pushkar SinghDhami and other leaders onTuesday.

Gram Pradhan & 150others booked forburning caged leopardPNS PAURI

In the incident of a cagedleopard being burnt alive by

villagers on Tuesday, the Pauripolice have registered a caseagainst Gram Pradhan ofSiplori village, five other per-sons and 150 unknown per-sons. According to the police,the forester of Nagdev rangeSatish Chandra lodged a re-port in the Pauri Kotwaliagainst Gram Pradhan AnilKumar, Devendra Singh,Sarita Devi, Vikram Singh,Kailash Devi along with 150unknown persons.The reportstated that earlier this montha leopard had killed a womanin the Siproli village.The forestdepartment installed cage inthe village to trap the leopard.On Tuesday morning the

leopard was trapped in thecage. When the officer andemployees of the departmentwere taking the caged leopardto Nagdev range, the Gram

Pradhan Anil Kumar withmore than 150 personssnatched the cage and burntthe leopard alive using petroland dry grass. The mob alsomanhandled the Forest de-partment employees. The po-lice said that the case has beenregistered against six namedpersons including the GramPradhan and 150 unknownpersons under Wildlife Pro-tection Act and different sec-tions of Indian Penal Code forkilling the leopard, obstruct-ing official work, manhan-dling government personneland rioting. The sub inspectorof Paubo police post DeepakPanwar is investigating thecase. No arrest had been madetill the time of this report

being filed. Sources state thatthe mob which killed the leop-ard included villagers ofSiplori, Sarna and Kalmori.

Ensure effectivecrowd control andproper arrangementsfor Yatra- Sandhu

For effective crowd controlthe pilgrims should be

made to halt at various loca-tions by the police and admin-istration. Physical barriersshould also be set up as andwhere required, said chief sec-retary Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.He issued these instructionswhile chairing a meeting withofficials regarding the CharDham Yatra.

Sandhu directed officials toensure that all necessaryarrangements are in place forsystematic facilitation of thepilgrimage. He directed thedistrict magistrates of the dis-tricts where the Char Dhamshrines are located that pil-grims beyond the carrying ca-pacity should not be allowedto go ahead. The district mag-istrates were also directed tomake local plans at their levelto ensure all necessaryarrangements. Plans shouldalso be prepared for commu-nication and information sothat pilgrims can be stoppedin a systematic manner atlower stops when the carryingcapacity has been reached atthe Char Dham complexes.

Sandhu further said that shedsand other arrangementsshould also be made to protectthe pilgrims from rain andsnowfall. While focusing onimprovement of sanitation, hedirected effective garbage dis-posal and its consistent moni-toring. Third partymonitoring or a separatesource of information shouldbe arranged to ascertain if theexecuting agencies are effec-tively discharging their re-sponsibilities for garbagedisposal, electricity, water andother arrangements.

It is worth mentioning herethat about 9,69,610 pilgrimshad visited the Char Dhamshrines till the night of May24. With the pilgrimage beingheld properly after a gap oftwo years when it has ham-pered by the Covid-19 pan-demic, a record number ofpilgrims are arriving for theYatra. While the large num-bers have exacerbated someissues including garbage dis-posal, the recent spell of rainand snowfall in the higherreaches has also caused healthissues among the pilgrims.

Light rain forecast inparts of 5 districts todayPNS DEHRADUN

No weather warning has been issued for the State after a spellof about four days which saw rainfall in various parts of the

State. However, very light to light rainfall/thunderstorm arelikely to occur at isolated places in the higher reaches of Ut-tarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Bageshwar and Pithoragarhdistricts towards afternoon/evening on Thursday. Apart fromthis, dry weather is likely to prevail in the remaining districts ofthe State.

For the provisional State capital Dehradun, the State meteor-ological centre has forecast mainly clear to partly cloudy sky. Themaximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be about 34degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius respectively on Thursday.Meanwhile very light to light rain was experienced in variousparts of the State on Wednesday with 9.5 millimetres in Kedar-nath, two millimetresin Koti and 1.5 millimetres in Thal. Themaximum and minimum temperatures recorded in variousparts of the State on Wednesday were 33.2 degrees Celsius and17.7 degrees Celsius respectively in Dehradun, 34.7 degrees Cel-sius and 18.9 degrees Celsius in Pantnagar, 20.3 degrees Celsiusand 9.7 degrees Celsius in Mukteshwar and 24 degrees Celsiusand 10.8 degrees Celsius respectively in New Tehri.

Indian ambassadors to Slovenia &Tajikistan meet industry officials

The ambassador of India tothe Republic of Slovenia,

Namrata S Kumar and ambas-sador of India to the Republicof Tajikistan, Viraj Singh metthe Industries secretaryPankaj Kumar Pandey onWednesday to discuss the pos-sibilities of trade and associa-tion between the State and therepublics concerned. Variousmatters of mutual interestwere discussed and some pos-sible consensus and ways for-ward were identified forfurther discussions in the fu-ture. This meeting was also at-tended by Industries directorgeneral Ranveer SinghChauhan, Industries directorSC Nautiyal and others fromthe Industries department.Later, the two ambassadorsvisited the State Infrastructureand Industrial DevelopmentCorporation of UttarakhandLimited (SIIDCUL) office todiscuss possibilities for indus-trial development across thevarious Integrated Industrial

Estates (IIEs) that SIIDCULhas developed and managedover the years. The meetingwas chaired by Chauhan inthe presence of SIIDCUL gen-eral manager PC Dumka andother officials. Various areas ofconsonance were discussedwith both the ambassadorsbeing apprised about IIEs, theinfrastructure IIEs offer and

the prominent industriesfunctional in the State. Talk-ing about the strengths ofSlovenia, Kumar informedthat Slovenia and Uttarakhandare quite similar in terms ofgeography, topographic land-scape and forest cover. Shestressed upon green techtourism and how it can be de-veloped in Uttarakhand. She

also spoke of mountainsports tourism, Yoga,Ayurveda and otherAYUSH related activi-ties, and how they canbe developed in the Stateand branded overallwith progressive intent.Talking about Tajikistan,Singh emphasised uponthe population base ofTajikistan and the lowcountry land cover forproductive use, but stillthe country has man-aged to grow based onniche branding andmarketing strategiesbeing applied to drivegrowth. He spoke about

agro-products being exportedto India from Tajikistan andhow high-quality saffron isbeing driven to Indian shoresthrough the Iranian route. Hespoke about creating a valuechain and ecosystem withbackward and forward link-ages to drive agro investmentsto Uttarakhand.

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The Election Commission(EC) has decided to act

against over 2,000 RegisteredUnrecognised Political Parties(RUPP) whose numbers saw a300 per cent increase in the lasttwo decades with most cominginto existence just before LokSabha or Assembly elections.Saying it is placing the facts inpublic domain so that the cit-izens know the affairs of thepolitical parties, the EC said in2019, of the 2354 RUPPs only623 contested even as 87RUPPs were found to be non-existent on ground. ManyRUPPS do not comply to thestatutory requirements.Alarmingly, the RUPPs com-bined claimed Income Taxexemption in the range of 100crore to 608 crore.

This is the first time thatthe poll body has decided to actagainst RUPPs for floutingrules, including failure to fur-nish a contribution report andcommunicate any change in itsname, head office, office bear-ers and address to the pollpanel. The EC said that it hasbeen reported that income tax

exemptions have been taken tothe tune of Rs 445 crores in2018-19 by 199 RUPPs and Rs608 crores in 2019-20 by 219RUPPs. Of these, 66 RUPPShave claimed income taxexemption without submittingcontribution reports in Form24A as mandated under section29C of the Act.

In view of the fact thatthere are 2174 RUPPs, whichhave not submitted contribu-tion reports, the list shall besent to the Department ofRevenue for taking all conse-quential action as per the RPAct 1951 read with the relevantprovisions of the Income TaxAct, 1961 and other statuto-ry/regulatory regime includingnot granting exemption / with-drawing exemption, if alreadygranted/ examining liability ofwrongly claiming exemption asthe case may be.

The poll body has directedchief electoral officials of stateand union territories to put thisorder on their websites forcompliance and for affordingan opportunity to anyoneaggrieved by above action."Action to be initiated againstthose receiving donations with-out due statutory compliances.

Action initiated against threeregistered unrecognized polit-ical parties (RUPPs) reportedto be involved in Serious finan-cial impropriety," the EC saidin a statement.

There are 87 RUPPs, whoseaddress of communication,was statutorily required as reg-istration requirement undersection 29A(4). Any change inaddress was required to becommunicated to the EC undersection 29A(9), which theyhave not complied. “TheseRUPPs have been found to benon-existent after a physicalverification carried out by therespective Chief ElectoralOfficers. The names of suchnon-existent RUPPs shall bedeleted from the list and ben-efits under the Symbols Order(1968) withdrawn” the EC said.

As per data shared by thepoll body, of the 2354 RUPPsover 92 per cent have not filedtheir Contribution Report in2019 to the poll body.

The data showed that near-ly 2056 RUPPs, which havefailed to furnish Annual AuditAccount of the (5) concernedfinancial year, are indicative ofgaps in vital financial infor-mation including bank

account, PAN, authorized sig-natories pertaining to thoseRUPPs, statement of assets andliabilities, contributionsreceived, details of donors andexpenditure.

“Any RUPP aggrieved byany action may approach con-cerned CEO with full factswithin 30 days of the issue ofthis direction with all evi-dences inter-alia includingproof of existence, other legaland regulatory compliancesmade till now such as submis-sion of year wise annual audit-ed accounts, contributionreport, expenditure report, ifany, updation of office bearersincluding authorized signato-ries for financial transactionsincluding bank account) andoperations under the SymbolsOrder 1968,” the EC said.

The poll body further saidthat 100 RUPPs, which havefailed to furnish ElectionExpenditure Statements afterthe contest of election(s), haveviolated the directions ofElection Commission. Theymay approach concerned CEOwith full facts within 30 days ofthe issue of this direction forremedial action, if any, to avoidany consequential action.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has reg-

istered a money launderingcase against Congress MP KartiChidambaram and others inconnection with the visas-for-bribery scam entailing irregu-lar issuance of visas to 263Chinese nationals in 2011when his father PChidambaram was the UnionHome Minister.

The ED has filed the caseunder the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) tak-ing cognisance of a recent CBIcase related to the scam.

The case pertains to alle-gations of Rs 50 lakh being paidas kickbacks to Karti and hisclose associate and CharteredAccountant S Bhaskararamanby a top executive of VedantaGroup company Talwandi SaboPower Ltd. (TSPL), which wassetting up a power plant inPunjab, according to the CBIFIR.The CBI had raided thepremises of the Chidambaramfamily and arrestedBhaskararaman last week, evenas Karti is likely to deposebefore it on Thursday.

This is the third moneylaundering case against Kartiwith the INX Media and

Aircel-Maxis cases beingprobed by the agency for thelast few years.

The ED will probe thepossible "proceeds of crime"that could have been generat-ed due to the alleged illegalactivity in the visa case andonce prima facie evidence isgathered, it can attach thoseassets, they said.The accusedpersons in the case will bequestioned as part of the inves-tigation, they further said.

Karti, 50, has denied all theallegations. In a statement post-ed on his Twitter handle onTuesday, he said "if this is notharassment, not a witch hunt,then what is." Meanwhile,Karti has been summoned bythe CBI for questioning onThursday in connection withvisa scam. He has been askedto join the probe within 16hours after he returned fromBritain.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has arrest-

ed Ashok Kumar Mittal,Director of Karnal-basedMahesh Timber Pvt. Ltd. in abank fraud case under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) fordiverting funds to Singaporethrough fake imports, causinga loss of Rs 155 crore to thebank.

The ED initiated moneylaundering investigation onthe basis of an FIR registered bythe CBI here for criminal con-spiracy, cheating, forgery andcriminal misconduct of a pub-lic servant against the accusedfirm, its directors and others.

“Ashok Kumar Mittal isthe key director of Mahesh

Timber Pvt. Ltd. who alleged-ly connived with the bank offi-cials and fraudulently got Letterof Credit limits enhanced fromRs 21 crore to Rs 195 crore,which were diverted to hisSingapore based entities onaccount of fake imports. Theaccused firm and its directorscaused overall wrongful loss tothe bank to the tune of Rs 155crore and wrongful gains tothemselves in this manner,”the ED said in a statement.

Mittal was non-cooperativeduring the investigation andwithheld relevant informationapart from misleading theinvestigation. After the arrest,he was produced before theSpecial Court, Panchkula,Haryana on Tuesday and hasbeen remanded to ED custodyfor four days, the agency added.

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In an effort to further strengthen ties inthe maritime domain, the four-day

third edition of Indian Navy-BangladeshNavy bilateral exercise “Bongosagar” isnow on in Bangladesh.

Giving details of the exercise, navy offi-cials said here on Wednesday, the drillcommenced at Port Mongla, Bangladeshon Tuesday. The harbour phase of exerciseis scheduled for two days followed by a seaphase in the northern Bay of Bengal fromThursday.

Exercise ‘Bongosagar’ is aimed atdeveloping a high degree of interoperabilityand joint operational skills through theconduct of a wide spectrum of maritimeexercises and operations between the twonavies.

Indian naval ships Kora, an indige-nously built guided missile corvette, andSumedha, an indigenously built offshorepatrol vessel, are participating in theExercise. The Bangladesh Navy is beingrepresented by Abu Ubaidah and AliHaider, both guided missile frigates.

The harbour phase of the exerciseincludes professional and social interac-

tions, and friendly sporting fixtures, inaddition to the tactical level planning dis-cussions on the conduct of the exercisesat sea.

The sea phase of the exercise would

facilitate ships from both the navies to par-ticipate in intensive surface warfare drills,weapon firing drills, seamanship evolutionsand coordinated air operations in a tacti-cal scenario.

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The Centre on Wednesdaytold the Supreme Court

that a committee chaired by theChief Justice of India had helda meeting on April 20 in whichthe question regarding thetenure of 23 members of theNational Company LawTribunal (NCLT) has beendeliberated upon. SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta, appear-ing for the Centre, told a vaca-tion bench of Justices DYChandrachud and Bela MTrivedi that the committee,which also comprises apexcourt judge Justice Surya Kantand Secretary of the Ministryof Corporate Affairs, is seizedof the issue and the next meet-ing is likely to be held within aweek or 10 days.

Mehta said the committeehad considered all aspects ofthe matter, including verifica-

tion reports of character andantecedents, which are consid-ered to be one of the importantfactors for the assessment of thesuitability of the 23 membersfor extension of their term ofoffice keeping in view the sen-

sitive nature of their duties. “Now, I am given to under-

stand that the next meeting isscheduled in a week or 10 days,”he said while requesting the topcourt to hear the matter onJune 15. Mehta said the nextretirement of one of the NCLTmembers is on June 20. Thebench was hearing a plea thathas raised issues about thetenure of the members of thetribunal.

The apex court noted thesubmissions of senior advocate

Maninder Singh, who appearedfor the petitioner and submit-ted that term of all the mem-bers of the 2019 batch wouldcome to an end on July 3, 2022,though the term should legit-imately be for a period of fiveyears.

“List the proceedings onJune 15, 2022,” the bench said,adding, “We request theSolicitor General to appraisethe court of the developmentswhich have taken place in themeantime.”

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The Delhi High Court onWednesday sought the

stand of the CentralGovernment on a petition toregulate online gaming andstop the games that are notgames of skills but chance.

A bench of Acting ChiefJustice Vipin Sanghi and JusticeSachin Datta issued notice onthe petition by lawyer AtulBatra who said in his plea thathis concern was that onlinegames of chance are promotedas games of skill and that onlinegambling is as bad as any sub-stance addiction. Noting thatbetting and gambling is a Statesubject, the court asked the

petitioner to implead the DelhiGovernment as a party to thepetition. Central governmentcounsel said that various min-istries are deliberating on theissue, which concerns a Statesubject, and the Centre, there-fore, cannot legislate upon itwithout the consent of theState. In the petition, the peti-tioner stated that if online gam-bling and betting are not regu-lated, it is likely to causeimmense damage to the societyat large as youngsters withimpressionable minds can fallprey to such games, which willhave an adverse effect on theirpersonal and professional life.

The petitioner soughtappropriate action against anentity offering an online crick-

et game involving money on itswebsite and prima facie pro-moting a game of chance.

The petitioner said thatunder the Information andTechnology Act, the Centre is

empowered to issue appropri-ate instructions to ban theoperation of illegal gamblingonline websites. The matterwould be heard next onNovember 16.

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Some antiviral medicationsmight have the potential to

shorten symptoms of mon-keypox and reduce the amountof time a patient is contagious,according to a study of sevenpatients diagnosed with therare viral disease in the UKbetween 2018 and 2021.

The cases analysed in thestudy, published on Tuesday inThe Lancet Infectious Diseasesjournal, represent the firstinstances of in-hospital trans-mission and household trans-mission outside of Africa.

The research also report-ed the patient response to thefirst off-label use of two dif-ferent antiviral medications --brincidofovir and tecovirimat

-- to treat the disease.The study found little evi-

dence that brincidofovir was ofclinical benefit but concludedthat further research into thepotential of tecovirimat wouldbe warranted.

The researchers also reportdetection of monkeypox virusin blood and throat swabs.

As optimum infectioncontrol and treatment strategiesfor this disease are not yetestablished, data from the studycould help inform global effortsto further understand the clin-ical features of the disease aswell as transmission dynamics,they said.

"As public health officialsare trying to understand whatis causing the May 2022 mon-keypox outbreaks in Europeand North America -- which

have affected several patientswho reported neither travel noran identified link to a previ-ously known case — our studyoffers some of the first insightsinto the use of antivirals for thetreatment of monkeypox inhumans," said Hugh Adler ofthe Liverpool UniversityHospitals NHS FoundationTrust, UK.

"Although this latest out-break has affected more

patients than we had previouslyencountered in the UK, his-torically monkeypox has nottransmitted very efficientlybetween people, and overall therisk to public health is low,"Adler, lead author on the paper,said. With international trav-el returning to pre-pandemiclevels, public health officialsand healthcare workers aroundthe world must remain vigilantto the possibility of new cases

of monkeypox, said Nick Priceof Guy's & St Thomas' NHSFoundation Trust, seniorauthor on the paper.

Of the seven UK mon-keypox cases analysed in thestudy, four were imported fromWest Africa with three furthercases occurring due to human-to-human transmission withinthe case clusters.

Monkeypox, a close rela-tive of the smallpox virus, is arare disease classified as a HighConsequence InfectiousDisease (HCID) by the UKHealth Security Agency.

There are currently nolicensed treatments for mon-keypox and there is limiteddata on the duration of its con-tagiousness, with the incuba-tion period ranging from fiveto 21 days.

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Following a demand fromactivists, the Union Health

Ministry has increased thefinancial support from 20lakh to 50 lakh for treatmentof patients suffering fromrare diseases under theumbrella scheme of RashtriyaArogya Nidhi (RAN).

“Beneficiaries for suchfinancial assistance would notbe limited to BPL families, butextended to about 40% ofthe population, who are eli-gible as per norms of thePradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana, their treatment inGovernment tertiary hospitalsonly," as per the official state-

ment of the Health Ministry.The RAN was set up to

provide financial assistance topatients, living below thepoverty line and who are suf-fering from major life threat-ening diseases, to receivemedical treatment at any ofthe super special ityHospitals/Institutes or otherGovernment hospitals.

The financial assistance tosuch patients is released in theform of a 'one-time grant',which is released to theMedical Superintendent ofthe Hospital in which thetreatment has been received.

The Government had inMay last year approved theNational Policy for RareDiseases 2021, aiming to

lower the high cost of treatingrare diseases in India..

Activists like SaurabhSingh, co-founder-director ofRare Disease IndiaFoundation (RDIF), havebeen pointing out the need forhigher funds for the sector.

He had been urging theGovernment to address thegaps in providing life-savingtreatment to those requiringit. Singh has suggested thatthe annual budgetary alloca-tion of Rs. 25 crore under theRAN for 2021-22 that has notbeen spent could be immedi-ately used to treat patientswith diseases under Group (3)such as Gaucher, Pompe,Fabry disease and MPS I andMPS II.

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Captain Abhilasha Barak has becomethe first woman officer to join the

Army Aviation Corps as a Combat Aviatoror pilot. Fifteen women officers hadexpressed their desire to join ArmyAviation Corps but only two officerswere selected after Pilot Aptitude BatteryTest and Medical examination.

Giving details of the momentousachievement, the Additional DirectorateGeneral of Public Information, defenceministry on Wednesday described it as a“Golden Letter Day” in the history of theIndian Army Aviation Corps.

It flies Chetak, Cheetah and Dhruvhelicopters and forms the life line fortroops guarding the Siachen glacier andother inaccessible forward posts along theIndian borders. The helicopters are usedfor reconnaissance besides medical evac-uation and disaster relief.

Upon successful completion of hertraining, Captain Barak was awarded theCoveted Wings along with 36 Armypilots, the directorate post said. The post,shared on Instagram, also features a set ofpictures from the ceremony.

It said "Golden letter day in the his-tory of Indian Army aviation. CaptainAbhilasha Barak becomes the first womanofficer to join Army Aviation Corps asCombat Aviator after successful comple-tion of training."

"Captain Abhilasha Barak has beenawarded the Coveted Wings along with 36Army Pilots by Director General andColonel Commandant Army Aviation.Young Aviators are now ready to spreadtheir wings in Combat AviationSquadrons," it read. The Army Aviationwing of the Royal Air Force(RAF) in Indiacame into being took place in 1942. InAugust 1947 the first Indian AirObservation Post-flight was raised.

The present day Army Aviation Corpswas established on November 1, 1986. Itwas “immediately inducted into OperationPawan,” which has been described as a“crucial test” for the Corps that had beennewly formed. It was the first major par-ticipation by the Corps in the Indian PeaceKeeping Force(IPKF)operations in SriLanka.

At present, women are given theresponsibility of air traffic control andground duty in the Aviation Department.Now Barak will take over the responsibil-ity of the pilot. The Corps candidates aretrained at the Combat Army AviationTraining School, Nashik. In June, last year,for the first time, two women officers wereselected for helicopter pilot training.

The IAF already has started inductingwomen officers as fighter pilots and in2018, Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedibecame the first Indian woman to fly afighter aircraft.

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Afresh petition in theShringar Gauri-Gyanvapi

Mosque complex lawsuit seek-ing a ban on the entry ofMuslims in Gyanvapi complexwas on Wednesday transferredto the court of civil judge(senior division/fast track)from the court of civil judge,senior division.

The fast track court willhear the petition on May 30.

International general sec-retary of Vishwa Vedic SanatanSangh, Kiran Singh, onTuesday last had filed a freshpetition in the court of CivilJudge (Senior Division) RaviKumar Diwakar in the ShringarGauri temple-Gyanvapi com-plex matter seeking a ban onthe entry of Muslims in theGyanvapi complex in which theGyanvapi mosque is located.

The petitioner alsodemanded that the entireGyanvapi complex be handedover to Hindus and sought per-mission for worship of‘Shivling’claimed by the Hinduside to have been found in thewuzu khana of the Gyanvapi

complex. The civil judge(senior division) had acceptedthe petition.

District Judge Dr AjayKumar Vishvesha onWednesday transferred thepetition to the court of CivilJudge (Senior Division/ FastTrack) Mahendra KumarPandey. The fact track courtposted the hearing for May 30.

It is learnt that the court ofthe district judge will hear themaintainability of the ShringarGauri-Gyanvapi mosque com-

plex lawsuit on Thursday. Thefive women filed a petition inthe court of Civil Judge (SeniorDivision) Ravi Kumar Diwakarseeking permission to wor-ship in the Shringar Gauritemple and preservation of theidols located in the Gyanvapimosque complex.

The defendants, includingthe Anjuman Intezamia MasjidCommittee, which looks afterthe management of theGyanvapi mosque, had movedan application in the Supreme

Court under Order 7, Rule 11of the Civil Procedure Code(CrPC), raising question onthe maintainability of the suit.The apex court on May 20 hadtransferred the petition to thecourt of the district judge fromthe court of the civil judge,senior division and directedhim to hear the applicationmoved by the defendants on pri-ority basis. The court of districtjudge on Tuesday posted thehearing on the maintainabilityof the suit first on May 26.

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Aday before Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was to

make an official visit toChennai to dedicate to thenation Rs 31,400 crore worthinfrastructure works built ascentrally-sponsored projects,a popular BJP leader in theState was murdered in front ofhundreds of onlookers atChintadripet, a city suburb onTuesday evening at 7.50.

Two motorcycle bornegangs hacked to death KBalachander (30), ChennaiCentral District Secretary of theBJP’s Scheduled Caste Wing infront of a crowd who ran fortheir lives after watching thegruesome murder.

Balachander who wasaccompanied by a securityguard was on his way to a teashop while the gangs ofunidentified persons struckhim, killing him on the spotand withdrew from the sceneas fast as they made theirappearance.

Hours before the incident,C Sylendra Kumar, directorgeneral of police (law andorder), Tamil Nadu Police hadtold reporters at Avadi, anoth-

er city suburb that law andorder was under control in theState and there were no reportsof any unpleasant happenings.“Tamil Nadu is a very peacefulState. No instance of caste orcommunal clash in Tamil Naduor firing or deaths due to spu-rious liquor has been reportedin the State,” Babu had toldreporters at Avadi PoliceCommissionerate.

K Annamalai, BJP Statechief took to the social mediawithin hours and said thatnobody was safe in TamilNadu. He asked the Police to

arrest all the accused in themurder of the party func-tionary. Karu Nagarajan,senior BJP leader who staged asit-in in front of theGovernment hospital whereBalachander’s body was takenfor autopsy asked reporterswhether Chennai was the polit-ical capital of Tamil Nadu ormurder capital.

In an embarrassment to theM K Stalin-led Government, apopular TV channel friendly tothe DMK , aired a news onWednesday stating thatChennai has seen 18 murdersin the last 20 days. The reportcontained the details of themurders with date, time andinformation about the victims.

But Shankar Jiwal,Commissioner, Chennai CityPolice, described the news aswrong. “There has been a 25per cent reduction in the num-ber of murders,” said Jiwalwhile speaking to reporters.

No arrests have been madein the Balachander murdercase at the time of going toPress though hectic combingoperations are underway acrossthe city. This is Prime Minister’sfirst visit to Tamil,Nadu afterthe change of Government inthe State in last May.

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The Central Bureau ofInvestigation probing the

School Service Commissionrecruitment scam following aCalcutta High Court order onWednesday subjected BengalIndustries Minister and formerTrinamool Congress secretarygeneral Partho Chatterjee tointensive 8-hour grilling.

Chatterjee, was the StateEducation Minister when thelarge-scale recruitment scamthat saw junior EducationMinister Paresh Adhikari’sdaughter Ankita landing ateacher’s job by-passingempanelled candidates tookplace. The said teacher hassince been dismissed from ser-vice following a court order.

According to sourcesChatterjee was asked a wholerange of “uncomfortable” ques-tions that he either circum-vented or replied in a round-about manner. Chatterjee had

created a five-member screen-ing panel comprising amongothers his own personal assis-tant and officer on special dutyin order to advice the SSCwhich is presumed to be anautonomous body responsiblefor appointments in schoollevel.

A judicial committeeappointed by the High Courtby Justice RJ Bag had indictednot only the minister but theaforementioned panel and evenrecommended criminal pro-ceedings against the offenderssaying the formation of thescreening committee was anillegal act.

When asked as to why hewent out of the way to appointthe screening panel or underwhose supervision it worked,Chatterjee reportedly said thathe had no control over thecommittee. When asked as towho controlled the committeeor for that matter if any out-sider was controlling it he

allegedly feigned ignorance,sources said adding he alsofailed to answer why he did nottake action when reports ofirregularities were coming in.

Sources in the CBI whichhas been grilling five seniorState government officials whowere in the screening commit-tee and through whom thescam was operated said“Chatterjee’s statements andthe statements given by the fiveofficials were not matching.”They even said that the state-ments given by Chatterjee andhis former Deputy PareshAdhikari too contradicted atplaces.”

The senior minister whohas been asked to furnish hisincome details was onWednesday asked to reduce hisstatements in writing forperusal.

While CBI sources saidthat the Minister could besummoned again they claimedthat information regarding an

alleged newly constructedinternational school in WestMidnapore and multiple apart-ments and hotels were alsobeing collected.

While prima facie at leastone thousand people were ille-gally given jobs by passing theempanelled candidates theHigh Court has directed theCBI to find out the total num-ber of illegal appointments —which the petitioners’ lawyersFirdous Shamim said couldrun into thousands — andmoney trail if any behind suchrecruitments.

Saying that it was a “multi-layered scam equivalent toVyapam scam or chit fund”Shamim said illegal appoint-ments took place in Group D,Group C, Primary, upperPrimary, secondary and high-er secondary level involvingthousands of teachers.

“The rate for illegalappointments hovered any-where between Rs 5 lakh for

the Group D level to Rs 20 orRs 25 lakh for HigherSecondary level,” he said adding“roughly it could involve atotal scam of Rs 15,000 crores— and this is by the lower side.”

Already about 600 peoplehave been identified and losttheir jobs and many more hun-dreds or even thousands couldface a similar fate, sources said.

Meanwhile, there weremore recruitment scamsreported in other departmentstoo, sources said. Protests werestaged in front of the CalcuttaUniversity by aspiring profes-sors who complained of a mas-sive scam in the recruitmentprocess of college teachers bythe College ServiceCommission. CSC chairmanDipak Sarkar however deniedsuch allegations. Similar scamswere reported in the HealthDepartment with the aspiringnurses staging protests outsidethe health ministry for thepast two days.

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The new Chief Minister ofthe poll-bound Tripura Dr

Manik Saha, who had thismonth replaced Biplab KumarDeb, called on President RamNath Kovind, Home MinisterAmit Shah and defenceMinister Rajnath Singh here onWednesday.

The change in the northEast state was affected by theBJP central leadership as elec-tions to the Tripura assemblyare about Year away and thechange is aimed at reducingthe anti-incumbency of fouryear-rule of Deb as CM.

It was Saha's first visit tothe national Capital since tak-ing charge as the chief minis-ter of the northeastern state onMay 15.

Saha said he met the homeminister and sought his con-tinuous guidance for all-rounddevelopment of Tripura.

"Delighted to meet theUnion Home Minister Hon'bleShri @AmitShah ji. Requestedhim for his continuous guid-ance so that I can devote myselfto the all round development ofTripura as Chief Minister of thestate,” Saha tweeted.

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Congress is likely to get 11Rajya Sabha seats in the

upcoming election cycle withsome of its top leaders, includ-ing P Chidambaram andJairam Ramesh, eyeing anoth-er term. This will also help theCongress strengthen its partyposition in the Upper House ofParliament from the current 29to 33 members.

Some other top Congressleaders, including Ghulam NabiAzad, Anand Sharma, MukulWasnik, Randeep Surjewala,Ajay Maken and Rajeev Shukla,are waiting in the wings to get aRajya Sabha nomination. Of the55 vacancies arising in the RajyaSabha in the next two months,seven Congress members —Chidambaram (Maharashtra),Ramesh (Karnataka), AmbikaSoni (Punjab), Vivek Tankha(Madhya Pradesh), PradeepTamta (Uttarakhand), Kapil Sibal

(Uttar Pradesh) and ChhayaVerma (Chhattisgarh) — will becompleting their terms.

The Congress will be gain-ing three to four seats in theUpper House if it manages toget all the three seats that arefalling vacant in Rajasthan.While the party will get twoseats in Chhattisgarh, where itis in power, it will get one seateach in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhandand Maharashtra, where itshares power with other like-minded parties.

The Congress is also likelyto get one seat each in Haryana,Madhya Pradesh and Karnatakaon the strength of its MLAs inthese states. Sources said whileChidambaram and Ramesh arehopeful that the party leadershipwould give a nod to them foranother term, there are a host ofother leaders who are waitingfor a Rajya Sabha berth for sometime now.

Chidambaram is eyeing

the lone Rajya Sabha seat fromTamil Nadu. He has alreadymet Tamil Nadu Chief Ministerand DMK leader M K Stalin.However, former Congresschief Rahul Gandhi's team ispushing for a young face inPraveen Chakravarty, the headof the party's Data Analyticsdepartment, for the seat.

Three-time Rajya Sabhamember Ramesh will get afourth term if his name iscleared for the lone seat inKarnataka, from whereSurjewala is also a contender.

In Haryana, Surjewala,Kumari Selja and KuldeepBishnoi are vying for the loneseat, but former chief ministerBhupinder Singh Hooda ispushing for the nomination ofAnand Sharma. The formerUnion minister is a prominentmember of the "Group of 23"and is considered close toHooda, who is also a memberof the grouping.

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The BJP on Wednesdaystarted a week-long cam-

paign to strengthen the organ-isation and boost outreachactivities in around 74,000electoral booths across thecountry where it is relativelyweak. The move is keeping thenext Lok Sabha elections inmind. BJP president J P Naddaaddressed a 'BoothEmpowerment Campaign'event at the party headquartershere, the party said in a tweet.The meeting was attended byseveral Union ministers andleaders from across the coun-try. The campaign will con-tinue till May 31.

The BJP has formed acommittee chaired by partyvice president Baijayant Panda

and including vice presidentDilip Ghosh, general secre-tary CT Ravi, and the party'sScheduled Caste (SC) Morchahead Lal Singh Arya as itsmembers.

The party has identifiedaround 74,000 booths acrossthe country that are to bestrengthened under the cam-paign. All party MPs have beenasked to strengthen 100 weakbooths in their respective con-stituencies and a 30-memberteam will be formed for thepurpose, party sources said.

Similarly, party MLAs havebeen given the task of strength-ening 10 weaker booths intheir constituencies, sourcessaid adding the BJP's RajyaSabha MPs have been given theresponsibility of strengthen-

ing polling booths in those LokSabha constituencies where theparty lost.

The weaker booths havebeen identified on the basis ofthe results of the 2014 and 2019Lok Sabha elections and stateassembly polls, they saidadding these booths have beendivided into various categorieson the basis of demography,organisational strength andother aspects.

A similar exercise was ini-tiated by the BJP in 2016 andthe party had identified around115 constituencies in six states— Odisha, West Bengal,Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,Tamil Nadu, Kerala — and theNortheast. The party had neverbeen able to win these con-stituencies till that time.

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The Education Ministry onWednesday released the

National Achievement Survey(NAS) 2021 report which assess-es the health of school educationsystem in the country by con-ducting comprehensive evalua-tion survey of children’s learn-ing competencies at classes III,V, VIII and X with a cycle peri-od of three years. It reflects theoverall assessment of schooleducation system. The last NASwas held in 2017.

The NAS 2021 was held on12.11.2021 at all India level andcovered Government Schools(Central Government and StateGovernment); GovernmentAided Schools; and PrivateUnaided Schools. Subjects cov-ered are Language, Mathematics& EVS for class 3 & 5; Language,

Mathematics, Science & SocialScience for class 8 and Language,Mathematics, Science, SocialScience and English for class 10.

According to theDepartment of School Educationand Literacy, about 34 lakh stu-dents of 1.18 lakh schools in 720districts from both rural andurban areas have participated inNAS 2021. The National ReportCard has been released andplaced in the public domain onnas.gov.in. It will enable analysisof results and remedial action atthe appropriate levels. The objec-tive of NAS 2021 is to evaluatechildren's progress and learningcompetencies as an indicator ofthe efficiency of the educationsystem, so as to take appropriatesteps for remedial actions at dif-ferent levels. It will help to unrav-el the gaps in learning and willsupport state/UT governments

in developing long term, mid-term and short-term interven-tions to improve learning levelsand orient on differential plan-ning based on NAS 2021 data.

The report is based on theperformance in all subjectsthrough disaggregation by gen-der (female, male), Area (Ruraland Urban), Management ofschools (Government,Government aided and Privateunaided) and Social Groups(Schedule Caste (SC), ScheduleTribe (ST), Other BackwardCommunities (OBC) andGeneral. This nation-wide sur-vey was administered by theCBSE in one single day at thesame time. The survey wasmanaged through the technol-ogy platform designed anddeveloped by NationalInformatics Centre (NIC).

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Making a strong case for thereservations for the Other

Backward Classes (OBCs),NCP chief Sharad Pawar onWednesday rooted strongly forthe conduct of a ‘caste-based’census by the Centre to deter-mine the quantum of reserva-tions for OBCs in the country.

Addressing a state con-vention on reservations organ-ised by the NCP’s OBC Cell atthe YB Chavan Centre here,Pawar slammed the NarendraModi-government at theCentre and the RSS that sup-ports the government, foropposing the caste-based cen-sus in the country.

“The OBCS are not askingfor anything free. They aremerely demanding reserva-tions as their right. The reser-vations cannot happen unlessthere is a caste-based nationalcensus. The SC and ST com-munities benefited by way ofreservations made in theConstitution, We should make

similar reservations to theOBCs,” the NCP chief said.

“For the purpose of pro-viding reservations to theOBCs, we need to ascertaintheir exact population. Onlyway to ascertain the OBC pop-ulation in the country is to con-duct a caste-based nationalcensus. Once the caste-basednational census is done, we willknow what exactly is the OBCpopulation in the country, Thereservations for them can bedecided on the basis of theirpopulation,” Pawar said.

At the convention attendedby the OBC leaders from acrossthe state, north Maharashtrarepresentative Umesh Nemademoved a resolution demandinga “caste-based” national censusso as to pave the way for reser-vations for the OBCs livingacross the country.

Coming down heavily onthe Modi government at theCentre for resisting a “caste-based” census in the country,Pawar said: “Yesterday, Biharchief minister Nitish Kumar

once again raised the issue ofcaste-based census. But till theModi-led BJP is in power at theCentre, I don’t think caste-based census will happen in thecountry. This is because themindset of the BJP and its ide-ological allies is different”.

Pawar said that RSS’ jointsecretary Bhyajji Joshi hadgone on record that his organ-isation was totally opposed tothe caste-based census on theassumption that it would viti-ate the atmosphere in the coun-try. “I would like to knowfrom him: how will the atmos-phere get vitiated? When thereis an imbalance in the society,we need to do something. TheNCP is prepared to do what-ever it takes to create awarenessin the society,” he said.

When he targeted the BJPand RSS for their resistance to“caste-based” census, the NCPchief was apparently alluding toan affidavit filed by the Centrebefore the Supreme Court onSeptember 23 last year that a“caste-census”, stating that a caste

census in 2021“would not be fea-sible” and that it had taken a “con-scious policy decision” to not toseek information regarding anyother caste, except SCs and STs.

The Centre had filed anaffidavit to this effect in theapex court in response to theMaharashtra government’s pleato count Other BackwardClasses (OBCs) in the upcom-ing census.

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar and former Bihar CMJitan Ram Manjhi too have forsome time been mountingpressure on the Modi govern-ment to get a clear count onOBCs. Even Union Minister ofState for Social Justice andEmpowerment RamdasAthawale is in favour of thecaste-based census.

Pawar said that the rulingMVA in Maharashtra — com-prising Shiv Sena, NCP andCongress — would go in forthe upcoming civic polls onlyafter the resolution of theOBCs reservations issue.

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Uttar Pradesh FinanceMinister Suresh Khanna

will present the first budget ofthe second term of the YogiAdityanath-led BharatiyaJanata Party Government onThursday.

The budget for the next fis-cal 2022-23 is expected to bethe biggest ever and is likely tobe over Rs 6 lakh crore. Thesize of the 2021-22 budgets wasRs 5, 50 Lakh crore.

Official sources said thebudget would be paperless andinclusive and would cater to theaspiration of all sections ofsociety.

The Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment had on December 16,2021 presented an interim-budget for 2022-23 in the state

legislature, proposing anexpenditure of Rs 5,45,370.69crore and estimated receipts ofRs 5,44.836.56 crore. This lefta deficit of Rs 534.13 crore.

The budget is likely toaccommodate the promisesmade by the BJP in its electionmanifesto ahead of the 2022UP assembly elections. Thebudget is likely to be focused onthe agriculture sector. The BJPhad promised free power tofarmers in its election mani-festo. Free power to farmers islikely to entail additionalexpenditure of Rs 1,800 croreon the state's finances.

The government is alsolikely to announce the creationof a stabilisation fund forensuring remunerative pricesfor the crops of tomato, onionand potato.

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legislations towards securingtheir own interests in plumpost-retirement roles (cur-rently heading the IslamicMilitary Counter-TerrorismCoalition).

No one in Pakistan hasany doubts of the ‘establish-ment’s’ (Pakistani military’s)long and deep hands in allsovereign decisions. The onceout-of-favour with thePakistani military, NawazSharif, had called theGenerals as ‘KhalaiMukhlooq’ (aliens or theinvisible hand) as the ‘estab-lishment’s’ hand in elevatingImran Khan to power in2018 was undeniable.Obviously, as the beneficiaryof the Pakistani military’sfavour, Imran had dissed allmurmurs about the military’sextra-constitutional abilitiesas he probably assumed thathe’d be able to defang theGenerals over time — hetried but failed miserably.

Ultimately, a desperatelystruggling Imran struggled tonuance the military’s claimedapolitical and neutral standwhen the tables turned, andhe had become an outsizednuisance for the Generals.Facing a no-confidence vote,Imran had invoked a stingingappeal for support by saying,“Allah did not allow us to be

neutrals as only animals areneutrals!” Clearly, theGenerals were not amusedand they remained ‘neutral’ toImran’s extreme discomfi-ture. Soon the dejected andejected Imran was leftlamenting, “Neutrals weren’tactually neutral.” Today, as thevainglorious Imran replotshis journey back to politicalrelevance, he is left hoping insarcasm, “I also say to myArmy that you said you areneutral, so now remain neu-tral.” Deep down, Imranwould know better of the shiftin tide and circumstances ofhis equation with these so-called ‘neutrals’.

Meanwhile, in a curiousclosing of the loop, it is theSharif family (deposed andhounded out of Pakistan inthe 1999 military coup d’état)that is singing hosanas of thePakistani military’s ‘neutral-ity’!

Tellingly, no PakistaniPrime Minister has ever com-pleted his/her tenure andalmost all were trippedthrough extra-constitutionalor judicial intervention thatinvariably could be tracedback to the shadowy Generalsat the Rawalpindi MilitaryGeneral Headquarters(GHQ). Only three PrimeMinisters were able to go

beyond the four-year mark.The fissures in each casewere triggered by politicalefforts to undermine ordiminish the PakistaniMilitary — in Imran’s case, hisgrandstanding in delayingthe transfer of his preferredspy chief ie, then DG of ISI,General Faiz Hameed, wastantamount to crossing thetraditional ‘red lines’ of non-interference in certain mat-ters. Imran could no longerbe trusted to walk the line ofthe ‘establishment’s’ formulafor Pakistani governance, andthus had to be removed.

Today, the Pakistani mil-itary has further denied anyimminent threat to nationalsecurity or the alarmist ‘inter-national conspiracy’. Makingit worse for Imran is thecareful recalibration of theSharif-Bhutto combinetowards the Generals, and thedeliberate assertion by thePakistani military spokesper-son that General Bajwa seeksno further extension ===both moves deflate Imran’sexpected aspersions and stri-dency against the ‘neutrals’.Somewhere along the line,Imran had managed to createa dangerous divide within theironclad ‘establishment’ withpurported factionalismbetween a General Bajwa anda possible faction led byImran’s politicallybeholden/preferred, Lt GenFaiz Hameed. This wasunprecedentedly and unex-pectedly brazen interferenceinto the insular affairs of thePakistani military, even by thestandards of the hugely ego-tistical Imran. For now, thepossible succession of Lt GenFaiz Hameed as the Pakistanimilitary chief has been check-mated, as has been the pos-sibilities of a civilian dispen-sation attempting to usurpthe powers of the incorrigibleGenerals.

(The writer, a militaryveteran, is a former LtGovernor of Andaman &Nicobar Islands andPuducherry. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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������������� ���������Sir — While India has joined the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), aforum to enhance cooperation among 13countries in areas such as clean energy,supply chain resilience, decarbonisation,digital trade and infrastructure, it is seenas a counter to the RCEP, from whichIndia has stayed away. At a time whenevery country is trying to secure its owneconomic interests, India must be warythat all IPEF members except India andthe US are part of the China-backed trad-ing agreement, the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP) and yet have chosen to be a partof the US-led initiative.

The dream of a win-win situation forall members can only be realised if thisframework provides a level playing field.Otherwise, it will become only a tool forthe assertion of America’s hegemonyconsidering the fact that the latter’s pre-vious initiatives like Blue Dot Network andBuild Back Better Initiatives had made lit-tle headway towards changing the region’sinfrastructural needs. India has afavourable balance of trade with the US,about $33 billion of trade surplus fromJanuary to December 2021, the exports toAmerica were valued at more than $73billion, way above imports worth around$40 billion.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

����������������� ����Sir — The Union Government’s decisionto reduce the taxes on petrol and diesel tocurtail the inflation rate is strategic innature. The cost of movement of goodsand people directly adds to the cost esca-lation of every product and it has come toa point where the “consumption” factorgets a hit and demand automaticallygoes for a nosedive under compulsion. It,therefore, leads to excess supply pushingthe graph further down to hit the bottomof the line, drastically affecting the econ-omy in the long run. This price reductionand correction process was supposed

to be taken up much earlier by the Government.

Taxing corporations and companiesdrives them away to another country,resulting in more job losses, reduction inIT revenues, more NPAs from failed busi-nesses, and so on. While the rich must betaxed more heavily than they are now,middle income groups need to pay uptheir fair share. The cess collected by theUnion Government is used to pay back theloans borrowed by State Governments onaccount of the GST revenue deficit to com-bat the COVID-19 pandemic. Whenpeople didn’t have objection to collectingdoles, they shouldn’t object to paying theirtaxes either.

CK Subramaniam | Navi Mumbai

�������� ������������ ���Sir — The current situation of disgruntledcommunal elements trying to dig andexplore mosques like Gyanvapi Masjid,saying Hindu temples existed under suchstructures, encouraged by politically-affiliated religious groups, has stemmedfrom the manner in which the Babri

Masjid was allowed to be demolished andthe Supreme Court’s verdict to hand overthe disputed site in Ayodhya to theHindu claimants. It is also a blunder andflagrant violation of the law by the hon-ourable courts by repeatedly entertainingsuch claims which are in contravention tothe ’Places of Worship (Special Provisions)Act,1991’.

It is an open secret that such movesare encouraged by the powers that be witha motive to reap political benefits. It is timethe Supreme Court intervened, put an endto this menace and upheld the spirit of thePlaces of Worship Act and preserve com-munal peace. If this is not done urgently,India will have to lose its great name as aland of great values and heritage. Further,any more demolitions similar to that of theBabri Masjid would confirm that we tooare a bunch of barbarians, like those whoare said to have demolished other religiousstructures.

Tharcius S Fernando | Chennai

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The Pakistani Army’scomplicated relation-ship with democracystarted with its first

native chief, Gen Ayub Khan.Ayub’s selection baptised the‘institution’ with the politicalculture of out-of-turn nomina-tion to the Chief of PakistaniArmy Staff for posterity (Ayubwas the junior-most Maj Gen inthe Pakistani Army and hisname was not even in the firstconsideration list). Soon theambitious General took over theformal reins from the civilianpoliticians and promulgated thecreatively deceptive concept of‘Basic Democracy’ — a farcicalsystem legitimising his iron-fist-ed dictatorship whilst providinga semblance of democracy. Asimilarly out-of-turn and osten-sibly pliant General Zia-ul-Haqwas to repeat the Ayub feat bydeposing the civilianGovernment of Zulfiqar AliBhutto.

The even more unhingeddictator in General Zia imme-diately promised a restoration todemocracy after taking over,“My sole aim is to organise freeand fair elections”, and withinmonths shifted his stance to ‘ret-ribution first, elections later’ —he stayed on for the next 11years till he died in a mysteri-ous plane crash. In 1999, yetanother out-of-turn and sup-posedly ‘safe’ Gen PervezMusharraf grabbed power in acoup d’état and promised ‘truedemocracy’ which he claimedwouldn’t be the “evil of shamdemocracy” but he, too, hungaround for another nine years!

Much wisdom has dawnedon the subsequent PakistaniArmy Chiefs like Pervez Kayani,Raheel Sharif and, most recent-ly, Qamar Javed Bajwa. All ofthem have preferred a more dis-creet, ‘democratic’ and highlyeffective way of running theshow, without attracting inter-national opprobrium. They haveeffectively ‘chosen’ civilianGovernments as per their top-ical interests, extended theirterms unilaterally to six-yearterms (Pervez Kayani andQamar Bajwa) or, like GenRaheel Sharif, managed to twist

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sophisticated nature of the attackscarried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affil-iates. The TTP aims to establish anIslamic Emirate of Pakistan, verysimilar to what the Taliban did inAfghanistan. TTP recruits are pri-marily from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and thus it hassympathies with the BLA. However,a catch is that the TTP swears itsallegiance to the Afghan Talibanand is backed by Al Qaeda. Thismakes TTP a dicey player betweenBLA and the Pakistan forces.

Interestingly, is it possiblethat TTP’s leader Noor WaliMehsud has allied with the Balochrebels? Till now, independentacts have been carried out by TTP(North-West of Pakistan) andBLA (South of Pakistan).However, that might not be thecase any longer. From a Pakistaniperspective, the Afghan Taliban’stakeover might have driven outthe US and posed severe issues forits allies, yet, the Taliban’s aspira-tions and capabilities to functionindependently of Rawalpindi can-not be ruled out. There havebeen statements from the Taliban“ministers” seeking an indepen-dent role in its ‘national’ andregional affairs. Moreover,theTaliban might have the revengeobjectives of post 9/11 develop-ments wherein Pakistan cleverlyhelped the U.S. crush the Taliban.One might assume that theTaliban has been going slow tooppress TTP’s rearming and aresurgence for the reasons men-tioned above, apart from forgingalliances with Baloch rebels.

If one can recall, in the early2010s, the Tehrik-e-TalibanBalochistan (TTB) emerged onTTP lines. TTB aspired for thecomplete exit of foreigners fromBaluchistan apart from fightingthe Pakistani security forces and

law enforcement agencies to con-vert Pakistan into a battlefield.The organisation recruited indige-nous fighting units and foreignfighters primarily of the Afghan-Pashtun tribes. However, theBaloch are traditionalists and notfundamentalists, and hence theassumptions and possibilities ofTTP and BLA finding conver-gences for their operational syn-ergies is a strong possibility. The‘Azadi Brigade’ can also be joinedby the ISKP (Islamic State -Khorasan Province), proving fur-ther detrimental to Pakistan’sinterests.

Although the intensity and thenumber of attacks against thePakistani military establishmentsincreased after the US exit fromAfghanistan, the recent extensionof the ceasefire between TTP andPakistan, mediated through theAfghan Taliban and the Haqqaninetwork, reminds us of 2020 whenin a surprising move the truce andsubsequent mergers between TTPwith its splinter groups and rivalsmoderated by the Al-Qaida.Important groups which mergedwith TTP were a faction of the sec-tarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi(LeJ) and the splinter groups ofTTP- Hakimullah Mehsud fac-tion, Jama’atul-Ahrar (JuA), and itssub-splinter Hizbul-Ahrar(HuA).The mergers gave a predom-inant position to the TTP, whichequalled the Afghan Taliban’s posi-tion in Kabul. Despite ideationaland strategic divergences, the cease-fire raises essential questions.Rawalpindi might be trying toestablish another regional Sunniproxy terror alliance in Balochistanwith Jaish ul-Adl,first to suppressthe Baloch movement and secondto revive the Iranian Jundullahorganisation while creating instabil-ity in Sistan and Balochistanprovince.Pakistan would want the

‘destructive forces’to be divertedelsewhere.

Whether the BLA fights alongwith the TTP or Pakistan andfinally succeeds in creating instabil-ities, the Chinese CPEC is boundto be in the doldrums for violenceplays an essential role in the region.A pertinent question is whetherPakistan is playing the same gamewith China as it played with the U.S.in Afghanistan? By attracting theChinese money and infrastructuretoBalochistan and Iran; encourag-ing Iran to remain isolated whilesimultaneously attempting to bringthe extremist group under a singleumbrella to launch offensive actionsagainst Baloch citizens, groups, aswell as Iranian Baluchistan, does itnot hint at the same methodologyas it adopted in the last decade forousting the US? If the violencebetween factions intensifies, theChinese Projects andits citizens willbe affected. In an extreme case,would not the Chinese be forced toabandon theirprojects the same waythe U.S. and the NATO forceswere forced to leave their airbases?

Pakistan’s major foreign andsecurity policy flaw has primarilybeen an anti-India approach.Viewing the mushrooming of theJihadist organisation from this lens,it has only aimed to receive aid fromeither of the powers while simulta-neously trying to destabilise India.Soon, Islamabad would be a victimof its homegrown terror and mightenlist as a nation that dug its owngrave. Joseph Nye once stated,“Important political leaders neverjust followed their interests - theywere concerned about the interestsof their people”. Islamabad hasnever produced a leader of thatkind.With more chaos, terror, exter-nal loans and inflation, it would notbe wrong to predict that ‘AzadBalochistan’ would see the light ofthe day very soon.

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(The writer is anAssistant Professor atCentral University of

Punjab, Bathinda. The views expressed

are personal.)

The Centre for MonitoringIndian Economy (CMIE)says that though the GDP

has bounced back post-Covid,its biggest impact has been onemployment. Employmentreached only 40.18 crores in2021-22 as against 40.89 croresin 2019-20. Unemploymentwhich was 3.29 crore in 2019-20 reached 3.33 crore in 2021-22 — an increase of only 4 lakhs.

The CMIE concludes thatthough the decrease in employ-ment has been nearly 7 millioni.e. 70 lakh, the increase ofunemployment is only 4 lakh,indicating that the people whogot unemployed during thisperiod have given up hope ofemployment and they are nowout of the race for employment.

It’s notable that for sometime, due to some reasons, theemployment related data in the

country is not being publishedby the National Sample SurveyOrganization (NSSO). It is nat-ural that in the absence of offi-cial figures, the figures of insti-tutions like CMIE get space inthe media. However, their cred-ibility is questionable.

The Mahatma GandhiNational Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act (MGNREGA)guarantees at least 100 days ofemployment in every financialyear to every rural unemployed.So, when people are unem-ployed, they are entitled to get100 days of employment underMGNREGA. In such a situa-tion, even if a person is gettingcasual employment anywhereand if he remains unemployedfor 100 or less days, then he canseek employment under ‘MGNREGA’.

This logically means that if

unemployment rises, thedemand for MNREGA will alsoincrease. For example, in 2020-21 due to lockdown in cities anddecline in economic activities,employment decreased andpeople migrated to villages,then in those days the numberof ‘MGNREGA’ beneficiariesincreased to 7 crores from

merely 5 crores before the lockdown.

Interestingly, the period(2021-22) for which the CMIEreport is talking about a rise inunemployment, demand forMGNREGA employment wasactually 6.55 percent less thanthe previous year. That is, it canbe said that during the Coronaperiod, people who had migrat-ed to the villages had gotemployment back in the urbanareas. In this sequence, if welook at the figures of April2022, it is found that in April2021, 2.62 crore people hadsought work under ‘MNREGA’,whereas in April 2022, only 2.33crore people sought work underMGNREGA, that is, a decline of11.15 percent. Analysts believethat the fall in demand foremployment under MGNRE-GA is due to increased employ-

ment in urban areas. This fig-ure is in stark contrast to thereport published by CMIE,which says that people havemoved out of the labour force,giving up the hope of employ-ment due to the loss of employ-ment opportunities. Instead ofgiving its own value judgementabout unemployment, CMIEshould have taken note of theMGNREGA figures to arrive ata conclusion.

The CMIE report statesthat even if 7.5 percent GDPgrowth is achieved in 2022-23,the unemployment rate willincrease rather than goingdown. For this they talk ofemployment elasticity withrespect to GDP. But we have tounderstand that the recoveryafter Covid in the economy isnot a normal recovery. Thisrecovery accompanies some

fundamental changes in theIndian economy. All indicatorsof the economy are pointingtowards these changes.

Significantly, in the lastquarter of the last financialyear (2021-22), the monthlyaverage of GST collection was1.42 lakh crore. The unprece-dented GST collection of �1.68lakh crore in the first month ofthis financial year (April 2022),is definitely pointing towards anupsurge in the economy. InMarch 2022, 7.7 crore e-waybills were generated, 13 per centmore than 6.8 crore e-way billsgenerated in February 2022.This clearly shows a sharprecovery in the economy.

Significantly, due to theshortage of semiconductors inthe country, many of our indus-tries including automobile, elec-tronics, telecom have been

affected. Despite that, risingGST revenue is indicating anuptick in manufacturing in theeconomy. It is true that importshave also increased during thisperiod, due to which the rev-enue of GST has increased, butwhere the revenue of GST hasreached �1.68 lakh crore, theshare of import GST in this rev-enue is �36705 crore, which isgreater than import GST ofMarch 2021 by 5608 croresonly. It’s notable that importGST in March 2021 was �31097crore. This implies that domes-tic businesses have definitelygrown during this period,resulting into this huge increase in GST.

The Government shouldsoon publish robust officialNSSO data and present thecorrect picture of employmentin the country.

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(The writer is Professor,PGDAV College, University

of Delhi. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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��� ���)��'&�!$ 5 ��, )�"�� Balochistan is Pakistan’s biggestoccupied province, making about44% of the country’s total land area.With a coastline of 770 kilometres,

Balochistan also shares borders with Iranand Afghanistan, and 40% of the world’soil travels via Gwadar port, located near theopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan’s display of unified national-ism is met with ethno-nationalist opposi-tion from Balochs, Pashtuns and Sindhis,who have been protesting against theirpolitical and economic marginalisationsince the formation of Pakistan.ThePunjab-centric planning and implementa-tion of projects under China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) have wors-ened the conflict between the state and theAzadi-seeking forces. A takeover of Gwadarport and subsequent exclusion of theBaloch firms, workers and fishermenfrom Gwadar-linked CPEC projects, andvarious developmental policies apart fromexploiting its natural resources have exac-erbated pre-existing secessionist senti-ments in Balochistan. Furthermore, theEastern route or alignment of the ChineseProject connects Gwadar and Karachithrough the developed portions of Punjaband Sind while leaving behind several dis-tricts of Balochistan. The Baloch main-stream parties have thus opposed the pro-ject entirely and have called for completefreedom.

Further, political discrimination againstthe Shia Hazara community in Quetta hasalso been a human rights issue. ShiaHazaras are considered Iranian spies bySunni sectarians. Restrictive practices inRawalpindi are evident in the massacre ofShia Hazaras and their lack of mention inthe national media. Nevertheless, EastPakistan (Bangladesh) was the only regionto achieve liberation from all forms of tyranny.

Today, the unification of various Balochrebel groups- Baloch Republican Army(BRA), United Baloch Army, Baloch RajiAjoi Sangar (BRAS) to form a BalochNational Army (BNA) or the ‘Azadibrigade’ might result in the establishmentof a Baloch territory carved out fromPakistan. If Rawalpindi increases its atroc-ities, the Balochs might retaliate further bycalling all the Balochs in Iran, Pakistan andAfghanistan to unite and form a ‘GreaterBalochistan’. The recent suicide bombingof Shari Baloch calls for the attention of theintensification of the freedom struggle inBaluchistan. Severaldisgruntled Pakistanifactions have hailed Shari Baloch’s decisionto oppose the CPEC and Rawalpindi. Onsocial media sites like Twitter, Sindhi sep-aratists have expressed their admiration forher bravery. It is an indication thattheBaloch National Army would expand toinclude Sindhi factions in the future.

Until now, the Baloch rebel groups’classic modus operandi used improvisedexplosive devices and hit-and-run attacksapart from the protests. Suicide bombingby Shari Baloch has commonalities with the

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Distraught familiesgathered at a localcivic centre andturned to social

media to mourn and to makedesperate pleas for help findingmissing children as the deathtoll in a gruesome school shoot-ing at a Texas elementary schoolrose to at least 19 students andtwo teachers. By nightfall,names of those killed during

Tuesday's attack at RobbElementary School in the townof Uvalde began to emerge. Oneman at the civic centre walkedaway sobbing into his phone“she is gone”. On the backside ofthe building, a woman stood byherself, alternately crying andyelling into her phone, shakingher fist and stamping her feet.

Texas Department of PublicSafety Lt Christopher Olivareztold CNN on Wednesday morn-ing that all the dead were in thesame fourth-grade classroom,where the shooter barricadedhimself and opened fire on the

children and teachers. MannyRenfro said he got word Tuesday thathis grandson, 8-year-old UziyahGarcia, was among those killed.

“The sweetest little boy that I'veever known,” Renfro said. “I'm notjust saying that because he was mygrandkid.”

Renfro said Uziyah last visitedhim in San Angelo during springbreak. “We started throwing thefootball together and I was teachinghim pass patterns. Such a fast littleboy and he could catch a ball sogood,” Renfro said. “There were cer-tain plays that I would call that hewould remember and he would doit exactly like we practiced.”

Fourth-grade teacher EvaMireles, 44, was remembered as aloving mother and wife. “She wasadventurous. I would definitely say

those wonderful things about her.She is definitely going to be verymissed,” said 34-year-old relativeAmber Ybarra, of San Antonio.

Ybarra prepared to give bloodfor the wounded and ponderedhow no one noticed trouble with theshooter in time to stop him.

“To me, it's more about raisingmental health awareness,” saidYbarra, a wellness coach who attend-ed the elementary school where theshooting happened. “Someone couldpossibly have seen a dramatic changebefore something like this hap-pened.”

Lisa Garza, 54, of Arlington,Texas, mourned the death of hercousin, Xavier Javier Lopez, who hadbeen eagerly awaiting a summer ofswimming. “He was just a loving 10-year-old little boy, just enjoying life,

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President Joe Biden delivered anemotional call for new restrictions

on firearms after a gunman opened fireat a Texas elementary school onTuesday. “When in God's name are wegoing to stand up to the gun lobby?”Biden said at the White House shortlyafter returning from a five-day trip toAsia that was bookended by tragedy.

With first lady Jill Biden standingby his side in the Roosevelt Room,Biden added, “I am sick and tired. Wehave to act.”

At least 18 students were killed,according to a state senator who said hewas briefed by law enforcement, in addi-tion to a teacher.

Just two days before Biden left onhis trip, he met with victims' familiesafter a hate-motivated shooter killed 10Black people at a grocery store inBuffalo, New York. The back-to-backtragedies served as sobering remindersof the frequency and brutality of an American epidemic ofmass gun violence. “These kinds ofmass shootings rarely happen anywhereelse in the world," Biden said. "Why?”He directed that American flags beflown at half-staff through sunsetSaturday in honor of the victims inTexas. Vice President Kamala Harrissaid earlier that people normally declarein moments like this, “our hearts break— but our hearts keep getting broken... And our broken hearts are nothingcompared to the broken hearts of

those families.”“We have to have the courage to

take action ... To ensure something likethis never happens again,” she said.White House press secretary KarineJean-Pierre said Biden was briefed onthe shooting by deputy chief of staff JenO'Malley-Dillon and other members ofhis senior team aboard Air Force One.

Shortly before landing inWashington, Biden spoke with TexasGov. Greg Abbott from the presiden-tial plane “to offer any and all assistancehe needs in the wake of the horrificshooting in Uvalde, TX,” White Housecommunications director KateBedingfield tweeted.

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British Prime Minister BorisJohnson on Wednesday

issued another apology overpartygate after top civil ser-vant Sue Gray's damningreport into breaches of coro-navirus lockdown rules atDowning Street concludedleadership fai lures werebehind a culture of rule-breaking within UK govern-ment offices.

Making a statement inthe House of Commons soonafter Gray's findings werepublished, Johnson said hetook “full responsibility” foreverything that happened andsaid all the senior manage-ment has changed withinDowning Street since the timeof those rule-breaking partiesin 2020-2021. Amid jeers andshouts from the Oppositionbenches, the prime ministerinsisted his statement is aimedat setting out the context, notto mitigate or excuse whathappened. “I am humbledand I have learned a lesson...Ialso want to say above all thatI take full responsibility foreverything that took place onmy watch,” said Johnson.

“Whatever the failing ofNo. 10 [Downing Street] andthe Cabinet Office throughoutthis difficult period and myown, I continue to believe thecivil servants and advisers...Are good, hard working peo-ple motivated... To do thevery best for our country,” hesaid. He went on to explainhow he thought it was “appro-priate” to thank staff whowere leaving for the workthey had done, with referenceto a particular farewell drinksparty that was found to havebeen in breach of COVIDrules.

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China wants 10 small Pacificnations to endorse a sweep-

ing agreement covering every-thing from security to fisheriesin what one leader warns is a“game-changing” bid by Beijingto wrest control of the region.

A draft of the agreementobtained by The AssociatedPress shows that China wants totrain Pacific police officers, teamup on “traditional and non-tra-ditional security" and expandlaw enforcement cooperation.China also wants to jointlydevelop a marine plan for fish-eries — which would include thePacific's lucrative tuna catch —increase cooperation on runningthe region's internet networks,and set up cultural ConfuciusInstitutes and classrooms. China

also mentions the possibility ofsetting up a free trade area withthe Pacific nations.

China's move comes asForeign Minister Wang Yi anda 20-strong delegation begin avisit to the region this week.

Wang is visiting seven of thecountries he hopes will endorsethe “Common DevelopmentVision” — the Solomon Islands,Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga,Vanuatu, and Papua NewGuinea. Wang is also holdingvirtual meetings with the otherthree potential signatories — theCook Islands, Niue and theFederated States of Micronesia.He is hoping the countries willendorse the pre-written agree-ment as part of a joint commu-nique after a scheduled May 30meeting in Fiji he is holding withthe foreign ministers from eachof the 10 countries.

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North Korea test-launched asuspected intercontinental

ballistic missile and two short-er-range weapons toward itseastern waters on Wednesday,South Korea said, hours afterPresident Joe Biden ended atrip to Asia where he reaf-firmed the US commitment todefend its allies in the face ofthe North's nuclear threat.

The suspected ICBM did-n't fly its full range. But if con-firmed, it would still be NorthKorea's first test of an ICBMsystem in about two monthsamid stalled nuclear diploma-cy with the United States. Thelaunch suggests North Korea isdetermined to continue itsefforts to modernize itsweapons arsenal despite itsfirst COVID-19 outbreak,

which has caused outside wor-ries about a humanitarian dis-aster.

"North Korea's sustainedprovocations can only result instronger and faster SouthKorea-U.S. Combined deter-rence and can only deepenNorth Korea's internationalisolation," the South Koreangovernment said in a statementafter an emergency securitymeeting.

Japanese Defense MinisterNobuo Kishi called the launch-es "an act of provocation andabsolutely impermissible." TheUS Indo-Pacific Commandearlier said the missile launch-es highlight "the destabilizingimpact of (North Korea's) illic-it weapons program" thoughthey didn't pose an immediatethreat to US territory and itsallies.

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Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Wasproclaimed the next presi-

dent of the Philippines by a jointsession of Congress onWednesday following a landslideelection triumph 36 years afterhis dictator father was ousted ina pro-democracy uprising.

The Senate and House ofRepresentatives also declaredthat his separately elected vicepresidential running mate, SaraDuterte, had won by a widemargin. She is the daughter ofoutgoing President RodrigoDuterte, whose turbulent six-year term ends on June 30.

They will lead a nation bat-tered by COVID-19 lockdowns,crushing poverty, gapinginequality, Muslim and com-munist insurgencies, crime andpolitical divisions further

inflamed by the May 9 election.Marcos Jr., a 64-year-old

former governor, congressmanand senator, has refused toacknowledge or apologise formassive human rights viola-tions and plunder under hisfather's strongman rule and hasdefended his legacy.

When they take office,Marcos Jr. And Sara Duterte willlikely face demands to prosecuteher father over thousands ofkillings of mostly poor suspectsunder his yearslong crackdownon illegal drugs. The deaths arecurrently under investigation

by the International CriminalCourt.

Marcos Jr. Received morethan 31 million votes and SaraDuterte more than 32 millionout of more than 55 millionvotes cast in the election. It wasthe first majority presidentialvictory in the Asian democracyin decades.

During the campaign, theyavoided controversial issues andfocused on a call for nationalunity, although their fathers'presidencies opened some of themost volatile divisions in thecountry's history. Marcos Jr.Appealed to be judged "not bymy ancestors, but by myactions".

Sen. Imee Marcos, the pres-ident-elect's sister, thanked thosewho voted for her brother afterwhat she described as years ofhumiliation.

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not knowing that this tragedy was goingto happen today,” she said. “He was verybubbly, loved to dance with his brothers,his mom. This has just taken a toll on allof us.” She also lamented what shedescribed as lax gun laws.

“We should have more restrictions,especially if these kids are not in their rightstate of mind and all they want to do is justhurt people, especially innocent childrengoing to the schools,” Garza said.

On social media, pictures of smilingchildren were posted, their families beg-ging for information. Classes had beenwinding down for the year and each schoolday had a theme. Tuesday's was Footlooseand Fancy. Students were supposed to weara nice outfit with fun or fancy shoes.

Adolfo Cruz, a 69-year-old air condi-tioning repairman, remained outside theschool Tuesday night, waiting for wordabout his 10-year-old great-granddaugh-ter, Eliajha Cruz Torres, whose where-abouts remained unknown to family.

Cruz drove to the scene after receiv-ing a tearful and terrifying call from hisdaughter shortly after the first reports thatan 18-year-old gunman had opened fireat the school.

While he waited outside the schoolTuesday night, his family was at the hos-pital and civic centre waiting for any poten-tial word on her condition. Çruz called thewaiting the heaviest moment of his life. “Ihope she is alive,” Cruz said. “They arewaiting for an update.”

Federico Torres waited for news abouthis 10-year-old son Rogelio. He toldKHOU-TV that he was at work when helearned about the shooting and rushed tothe school. “They sent us to the hospital,to the civic centre, to the hospital and hereagain, nothing, not even in San Antonio,"Torres said. "They don't tell us anything,only a photo, wait, hope that everythingis well.”

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The Russian rocket strikescame early in the morning

in the eastern Ukrainian townof Pokrovsk on Wednesday,shaking buildings, jolting peo-ple out of bed and sendingchunks of concrete and jaggedpieces of metal flying throughthe air.

One of the two rockets lefta crater at least three metresdeep, remnants of the projec-tile still smoldering as nearbyresidents picked through thedebris of their homes, trying tosalvage whatever they could.

A row of low terracedhouses nearby suffered signif-icant damage, with roofingtiles blown off, door framesripped from the walls andpieces of brick, concrete andasphalt scattered on theground. Four civilians werewounded, said PavloKyrylenko, head of the Donetskmilitary administration.

At least one of them suf-fered a head wound and wasferried to the local hospital byambulance, blood seepingthrough the bandages andtrickling down the side of hisneck.

The strikes in Pokrovskwere among several over thepast two days that have hittowns and villages as Russiapressed forward in its offensivein the Donbas, Ukraine's east-ern industrial heartland.

"There's no place left to livein, everything is smashed,"said Viktoria Kurbonova, amother-of-two who lived inone of the terraced houses.

The windows had beenblown out by an earlier strikeabout a month ago, and theyhad replaced them with plasticsheeting. That, she said, prob-ably saved their lives as at leastthere was no glass flyingaround.

She had been asleep whenthe strike hit, just metres fromher house. "There was a reallybig flash and a lot of dust,"Kurbonova said, standing out-side her home still in her paja-

mas, her legs and arms black-ened by soot.

Her four-year-old son wan-dered around, clutching a toytrain, while her two-year-olddaughter smiled in a strollernearby.

"I was reaching for mychild and I couldn't find him inthe dust," she said. The boy hadbeen sleeping in the sameroom as her, while her daugh-ter had been in the next roomwith Kurbonova's mother. Theywere all shaken, but none werehurt.

Kyrylenko said Russianstrikes killed 12 civilians theprevious day in the Donetskregion, and wounded another10. Another strike on the cityof Kramatorsk, northeast ofPokrovsk, hit a multi-storybuilding under construction,damaging it and blowing outwindows in nearby buildingsbut causing no casualties.

"Russians continue hittingthe cities that are away from thefront line," Kyrylenko said onhis Telegram channel. "Theywould like to kill as manycivilians as possible and causepanic. That is why the onlygood choice is evacuation.Evacuation saves lives."

The governor of the neigh-bouring Luhansk region, SerhiyHaidai, said at least six civilianshad been killed and eightwounded over the past 24hours in shelling in the town ofSieverodonetsk, at the heart ofthe Russian offensive in easternUkraine.

Russian forces have beenattempting to encircleSieverodonetsk and cut off

Ukrainian forces there. Haidaiaccused the Russians of delib-erately targeting shelters wherecivilians were hiding.

Moscow-backed separatistshave fought Ukrainian forces inthe Donbas for eight years andhold large swaths of territory.

Sievierodonetsk andneighbouring cities are theonly part of the Donbas'Luhansk region still underUkrainian government con-trol.

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Chunks of thick, twistedmetal and wood splinters

lie among the swings andslides in the playground out-side a bombed-out school.Some streets away, a yellowbathtub dangles over the voidleft when part of an apartmentbuilding collapsed in a bomb-ing.

The eastern Ukrainiantown of Bakhmut has beencoming under increasingbombardment in Russia's war,particularly over the last week,local officials and residents say,as Russian forces try to pressforward in an effort to encir-cle and capture the key city ofSieverodonetsk to the north-east.

Moscow-backed sepa-ratists have fought Ukrainianforces in the Donbas for eightyears and hold large swaths ofterritory. Sieverodonetsk andneighboring cities are the onlypart of the Donbas' Luhanskregion still under Ukrainiangovernment control.

Most of Bakhmut's popu-lation has already fled, andmore are leaving every day.Evacuation minibuses runmainly by volunteers shuttleback and forth, sometimeseven during bombardments, toget people out.

"Now it's a question of sav-ing the children," said OlgaHordiyenko, 51, as she stoodin a playground on Tuesdaynear her apartment building."The Russians are shelling us,

so there's this burning issue toget the children out of here."

Ignoring the repeatedbackground sounds ofshelling, her three grandchil-dren, girls ages 7, 9 and 11,focused on learning dancemoves from a video on theirmother's mobile phone.

Hordiyenko and herdaughter Anna Dyachenko,28, wanted to leave on Tuesdaybut there was no room on thebus for them, they said.Instead, they would be leavingon Wednesday, heading towestern Ukraine initially andthen abroad to relatives.

"People say it's time to go,and we're happy to leave,"Dyachenko said. But they stillfear they will have nothing tocome home to once the war isover.

"Here we have our apart-ment, our house," she said."Everything will be smashedand destroyed."

With a pre-war populationof around 85,000, there arenow around 30,000 peopleleft, Bakhmut City CouncilSecretary Ganna Petrieynko-Poluhina said. While author-ities are encouraging morepeople to leave, some are hes-itant, she said.

"Life is the most importantthing for a person. But peopleare tied to their homes, to whatthey remember," Petrieynko-Poluhina said. "Every day wesee that shelling happens moreoften, and people leave. Wewould like that more peopleleave."

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The European Union's exec-utive arm entered sensitive

legal territory on Wednesdaywith a proposal to confiscatethe frozen assets of oligarchswho try to violate the bloc'ssanctions over Russia's war inUkraine.

The EuropeanCommission proposed twoEU laws that would require the27 member states to cede adegree of jealously guardednational sovereignty over

criminal matters.One piece of draft legisla-

tion seeks new European ruleson freezing and confiscatingthe assets of people blacklist-ed by the EU.

The second legislative pro-posal aims to expand the listof acts deemed to be “EUcrimes” by including breach-es of European sanctions.

Both initiatives need theapproval of EU governmentsin a scrutiny process that usu-ally takes many months andcan even last for years.

The bloc's heads of gov-ernment are due to discussoptions for using the frozenassets of sanctioned Russianoligarchs to support the recon-struction of Ukraine during atwo-day summit next week.

“There is no time to lose,”Margaritis Schinas, aEuropean Commission vice-president in charge of securi-ty matters, told reporters inBrussels. “Many times we seeassets recovery and confisca-tion of the small fry, whereasthe big sharks find ways to

evade.”While the EU has spent

decades crafting commonrules on various areas of crim-inal law, European sanctionsagainst Russian leaders andoligarchs over the past threemonths have added impetus tocalls for a stronger Europeanframework.

The EU has imposed assetfreezes and travel bans onmore than 1,000 people,including over 30 oligarchs, inresponse to Russia's invasionof Ukraine on February 24.

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India's economy is expectedto have grown at 9.2 per cent

in the fiscal ended March 2022,after having contracted by 7.3per cent in the previous finan-cial year, aided by resilience inthe rural economy, uptick inbank credit and rising GST col-lections, a note by Bank ofBaroda said.

As per government'sadvance estimates, the grossdomestic product (GDP) inFY22 is projected to grow by8.9 per cent. The NationalStatistical Office (NSO) willrelease the final GDP growthfigures for FY22 on May 31.

Bank of Baroda (BoB), ina note on GDP expectations byits Economic ResearchDepartment, said it expectsthe economy to post highergrowth in the last quarterended March as mobilityimproved, allowing openingup of economy with muchlower COVID-19 cases acrossstates.

Contact-intensive sectorsare expected to make strongerrecovery, and the economy isprojected to grow by 5.5 percent in Q4 FY22 against 5.4 percent in Q3, it said. A muchneeded pick up will be visible

in services sector, with traveland hospitality contributingsignificantly. Construction isalso likely to edge upwards.

However, agriculturegrowth might be a tad slow ascompared to government expec-tations (3.3 per cent againstgovernment estimate of 3.5 percent) owing to lower yield ofwheat crops, conflict betweenRussia-Ukraine and heat waveconditions, as per the researchnote.

BoB said these might posedownside risks to its projections.Industrial growth might beadversely impacted too. It saidIndia's economy is poised torecover in FY22 after contract-ing by 7.3 per cent in FY21.

The main factors con-tributing to this kind of growthare -- resilience shown by therural sector with normal mon-soon and higher production offoodgrains; uptick in bankcredit growth to push financialservices and improvement inservices sector with passengertraffic (-62 per cent to 59 percent), rail freight (2 per cent to15 per cent) and port cargo (-4.6 per cent to 7 per cent) lead-ing the race.

Higher GST collectionshave also provided much need-ed support. "Against this back-drop, we expect GDP growth at

9.2 per cent in FY22," Bank ofBaroda said. However, there aredownside risks emanating fromthe ongoing Russia-Ukraineconflict, soaring of commodityprices and acceleration in glob-al inflation going ahead, itadded. Further, aggravating heatwave conditions have curbedwheat output and added somepressure to industrial growth.

A mix of both monetary(RBI frontloading with ratehike) and fiscal policy (reduc-tion in excise duties) at play isexpected to boost growthprospects, it contended.

The International MonetaryFund (IMF) expects India'seconomy to grow by 9 per centin FY22, while AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) hasprojected India's growth at 7.5per cent. "However, we expectthe economy to do much bettersequentially specially on theback of base effect and nor-malisation of economic activi-ty.

"The overall impact ofOmicron variant which result-ed in the 3rd wave of COVID-19 seems to be relatively mutedthan was initially anticipated.

Further, rapid pick up inpace of vaccination programmeis also expected to supportgrowth," as per research note bythe public sector lender.

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The Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA)

on Wednesday cleared theGovernment's 29.5 per centstake sale in Hindustan ZincLimited (HZL), which couldfetch around Rs 38,000 crore tothe exchequer. The decisionwould give a push to theGovernment's disinvestmentdrive in the current fiscal.

The government has bud-geted Rs 65,000 crore from PSUdisinvestment and strategicsale. The sale of 29.5 per centstake representing over 124.96crore shares would fetcharound Rs 38,000 crore to theexchequer at current marketprices, said officials.

Shares of HZL closed at Rs305.05, up 3.14 per cent on theBSE. During the day, the scriptouched a high of Rs 317.30 ashare. Hindustan Zinc was aGovernment-owned company

till 2002. In April 2002, theGovernment offloaded a 26 percent stake in HZL to SterliteOpportunities and VenturesLtd (SOVL) for Rs 445 crore—thereby giving Vedanta groupmanagement control in HZL.

Vedanta group laterbought 20 per cent from themarket and another 18.92 percent from the government inNovember 2003, raising itsownership in Hindustan Zincto 64.92 per cent. This 20 percent sale became a controver-sy and recently Supreme Courtdirected CBI to probe into theprice variations between thefirst offloading and secondoffloading of shares happenedduring the VajpayeeGovernment.

Vedanta, led by miningmagnate Anil Agarwal, recent-ly said the company can buyjust 5 per cent additional stakein the HZL considering theprice of the shares on offer.

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AGST tax rate rationalisa-tion is likely to be delayed

due to elevated inflation,sources said on Wednesday.

The Goods and ServicesTax (GST) regime taxes goodsand services in four tax slabs of5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 percent and 28 per cent.

It was being considered toreduce these tax slabs possiblyto 3, an exercise which wouldhave involved raising taxes insome items and a reduction inothers. But with inflation rateruling at all-time high, such anexercise is likely to be delayed,sources said.

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Benchmark indices wipedout early gains as volatility

yet again ruled the markets,with the Sensex extending itsdecline to the third day run-ning on Wednesday, fallingover 300 points amid a sell-offin IT stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensextanked 303.35 points or 0.56per cent to settle at 53,749.26.During the day, the bechmarkhit a low of 53,683.16 and ahigh of 54,379.59. The broad-er NSE Nifty declined 99.35points or 0.62 per cent to endat 16,025.80. From the Sensexpack, Asian Paints, TCS,

Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Larsen& Toubro, Infosys, State Bankof India, HCL Technologiesand M&M were among thebiggest laggards. In contrast,NTPC, Bharti Airtel, HDFC,Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestle,ICICI Bank and ITC were theprominent gainers.

Asian markets in HongKong, Shanghai and Seoulended with gains, while Tokyowas marginally lower.

Exchanges in Europe weretrading in the green in theafternoon trade.Stock marketsin the US had mostly endedlower on Tuesday. Internationaloil benchmark Brent crudejumped 1.37 per cent to USD

115.1 per barrel. Continuingtheir selling spree, foreign insti-tutional investors offloadedshares worth a net Rs 2,393.45crore on Tuesday, as per stockexchange data.

"Domestic indices waveredtracking mixed sentimentsfrom global markets asinvestors assessed the possibil-ity of a recession in the US fol-lowed by the Fed policy tight-ening.

"Global markets are await-ing the release of the Fed min-utes, which will be evaluatedfor details on the path of theupcoming rate hikes," saidVinod Nair, Head of Researchat Geojit Financial Services.

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The RBI on Wednesdaycame up with norms for

facilitating physical import ofgold through IndiaInternational Bullion ExchangeIFSC (IIBX) or similar autho-rised exchange by QualifiedJewellers in India.

In addition to agenciesnominated by the RBI and byDGFT, Qualified Jewellers (QJ)as approved by InternationalFinancial Services CentersAuthority (IFSCA) were per-mitted to import gold inJanuary.

The RBI issued the guide-lines in order to enable residentQualified Jewellers to importgold through IIBX or any otherexchange approved by IFSCAand the Directorate General ofForeign Trade (DGFT).

As per the guidelines,banks may allow QualifiedJewellers to remit advance pay-ments for 11 days for import ofgold through IIBX in compli-ance to the extant Foreign

Trade Policy and regulationsissued under IFSC Act. "Theadvance remittance for importof Gold should not be leveragedin what-so-ever form forimporting gold worth morethan the advance remittancemade," the Reserve Bank ofIndia said.

In case the import of goldthrough IFSCA authorisedexchange, for which advanceremittance has been made,does not materialise, or theadvance remittance made forthe purpose is more than theamount required, the unutilisedadvance remittance shall beremitted back to the samebank within the specified timelimit of 11 days.

RBI also said all paymentsby qualified jewellers forimports of gold through IIBX,shall be made throughexchange mechanism asapproved by IFSCA. Goldimports dipped by about 72 percent to USD 1.72 billion dur-ing April, from USD 6.23 bil-lion in the year-ago month.

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The rupee recovered 3 paiseto settle at 77.54 (provi-

sional) against the US curren-cy in a restricted trade onWednesday as interventionsby banks supported the localunit while a stronger dollar inoverseas markets restricted thegains.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the rupee opened higher at77.54 against the greenbackand moved in a range of 77.44to 77.57 in the day trade.Therupee finally ended at 77.54,higher by 3 paise over its pre-vious close of 77.57 against theAmerican currency.

"Rupee traded with pen-dulum swing on a range fightbetween hedgers as partici-pants from banks tried to sup-port rupee whereas remittance

takers of dollar equally boughtkeeping rupee ranged between77.47-77.60. The US Fed state-ment minutes later in the nightmight give some trend to theUSDINR pair in futures," saidJateen Trivedi, VP ResearchAnalyst at LKP Securities.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the BSE Sensexended 303.35 points or 0.56 percent lower at 53,749.26, whilethe broader NSE Nifty fell99.35 points or 0.62 per cent to16,025.80.

The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback's strengthagainst a basket of six curren-cies, rose 0.36 per cent to102.22. Foreign institutionalinvestors were net sellers in thecapital market on Tuesday asthey offloaded shares worth Rs2,393.45 crore, as per stockexchange data.

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Exports of paper and paper-board from India jumped

nearly 80 per cent in FY 2021-22, touching a record Rs 13,963crore, according to industrybody IPMA.

The export growth hasstraddled across differentgrades of paper, said a state-ment from Indian PaperManufacturers Association(IPMA) while citing datareleased by Directorate Generalof Commercial Intelligence &Statistics (DGCI&S).

"In value terms, exports ofcoated paper and paperboardincreased by 100 per cent,uncoated writing and printingpaper by 98 per cent, tissuepaper by 75 per cent and kraftpaper by 37 per cent," saidIPMA.

Paper exports from Indiahave been on an uptrend sincethe last five years. India is

exporting papers to - UAE,China, Saudi Arabia,Bangladesh, Vietnam and SriLanka."In volume terms, paperexports from India have goneup four times from 0.66 milliontonnes in FY17 to 2.85 milliontonnes in FY22.

Similarly in value terms,the figures for correspondingyears rose from Rs 3,041 croreto Rs 13,963 crore," it said.

"Exports have been risingin the last few years due tocapacity expansion and tech-nological upgradation under-taken by Indian paper mills,leading to better product qual-ity which has found wideracceptance globally," said RohitPandit, Secretary General,IPMA.

In the last five to sevenyears, paper mills in India haveinvested over Rs 25,000 crore tocreate new capacities andinduction of clean and greentechnologies, he said.

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The Government on Tuesdayimposed restrictions on

sugar exports from June 1, amove aimed at increasing avail-ability of the commodity in thedomestic market and curbingprice rise.

"Export of sugar (raw,refined and white sugar) isplaced under restricted cate-gory from June 1, 2022onwards," the DirectorateGeneral of Foreign Trade(DGFT) said in a notification.

However, it said that theserestrictions would not beapplicable on sugar beingexported to the EU and the USunder CXL and TRQ. A spec-ified amount of sugar is export-ed to these regions under CXLand TRQ.In a statement, thegovernment said that with aview to maintain domestic

availability and price stability ofsugar in the country duringsugar season 2021-22(October-September), it hasdecided to regulate the sugarexports with effect from June1."The government has decid-ed to allow export of sugar upto 100 LMT (Lakh MetricTonnes) with a view to main-tain the domestic availabilityand price stability during the

sugar season 2021-22(October-September)," it said."As per the order issued byDGFT, with effect from 1stJune, 2022 till 31st October,2022, or till further order,whichever is earlier, the exportof the sugar will be allowedwith specific permission of theDirectorate of Sugar,Department of Food andPublic Distribution," it said.

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Ratan Tata-backed energydistribution startup Repos

Energy has partnered withMahindra for doorstep fueldelivery through the automak-er's Furio trucks, a release saidon Wednesday.

The Pune-based firmRepos is currently presentacross over 220 cities throughits over 1,500 partners andmore than 2,500 mobile petrolpumps.

The doorstep fuel deliverymodel has grown rapidly acrossthe country and scaled up evenfaster in the post-Covid era,owing to many factors, such asstructural constraints of theexisting distribution model,changing buying behaviour ofconsumers and technologicaldisruptions, according to the

release. Nagpur-based startupNavankur Infranergy hasrecently launched a mobilefuel station for the doorstepdiesel delivery to various cus-tomers across Nagpur.

The mobile station, builton a Mahindra Furio 11 truck,with a double dispensing Alphamobile pump, has been sup-plied by Repos Energy, accord-ing to the release.

Repos Energy has tied upwith Mahindra to cater todoorstep fuel delivery demandthrough their Furio trucks,said the release.

"Mahindra's range of lightand the intermediate com-mercial vehicle come with theirinherent advantages to make ita perfect fit for fuel Bowseroperation and ensure prof-itability," said Jalaj Gupta,Business Head for commercial

vehicles at Mahindra &Mahindra Limited. A majorproportion of the diesel goesinto fuelling industries, whereit is often required in bulk.

These industries resort toprocuring diesel from fuelpumps using improper recep-tacles like barrels and bowsers,which cause great losses in theform of spillage, pilferage, deadmileage, and manpower costs,he stated.

"Combining with theexpertise of Repos Energy infuel bowser business solution,we are introducing a com-pelling product offering tocater to the emerging need ofindustries," Gupta added.Doorstep diesel delivery inIndia has eased the way fuel isbeing delivered in the country,according to Chetan Walunj,co-founder of Repos Energy.

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To recover investors' money,Sebi on Wednesday said it

will auction a total of fiveproperties of Golden Life AgroIndia Ltd and Sunshine AgroInfra Ltd for a reserve price ofRs 11.5 crore on June 16.

The two companies raisedfunds from investors withoutcomplying with regulatorynorms.

The properties put on theblock include land parcels anda double storied building situ-ated across West Bengal, theSecurities and Exchange Boardof India (Sebi) said in a notice.

Inviting bids for the sale ofrecovery proceedings againstGolden Life Agro India andSunshine Agro Infra and theirdirectors, Sebi said auction of

properties will be conductedthrough online mode on June16, 2022 during 10.30 am to11.30 am. Out of the five prop-erties being put on the block,three belong to Golden LifeAgro India and remaining tworelate to Sunshine Agro Infra.

Total reserve price of theseproperties is pegged at Rs 11.53crore, as per notice.QuikrRealty has been appointed as e-auction service provider.

The regulator said biddersshould make their own inde-pendent enquiries regardingencumbrances, title of proper-ties put on auction and claims,among others, prior to sub-mitting their bids.

"The properties are beingsold with all the existing andfuture encumbrances whetherknown or unknown to Sebi.

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Crude oil prices onWednesday rose by �102 to

�8,614 per barrel as partici-pants widened positions on afirm spot demand.

On the Multi CommodityExchange, crude oil for Junedelivery traded higher by �102or 1.2 per cent at �8,614 perbarrel in 6,907 lots. Analystssaid the raising of bets by par-ticipants kept crude oil priceshigher in futures trade.

Globally, West TexasIntermediate crude oil was upby 1.03 per cent at $110.90 perbarrel, while Brent crude trad-ed 1.03 per cent higher at$114.73 per barrel in NewYork.

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Standard Chartered Bank hassettled with markets regu-

lator Sebi a case pertaining toalleged violations of regulato-ry norms in the matter of CGPower and Industrial SolutionsLtd after paying Rs 4.97 croretowards settlement charges.The order came after Standard

Chartered Bank (SCB)approached Sebi proposing tosettle case pertaining to allegedviolations of PFUTP(Prohibition of Fraudulent andUnfair Trade Practices) rules"without admitting or denyingfindings of fact and conclusionsof law", through a settlementorder. "Pending enforcementproceedings for alleged defaults... Are settled qua applicant,"Sebi said in its settlement orderpassed on Wednesday.

The regulator further saidit will not initiate other enforce-ment actions against the appli-cant for the defaults. Sebi hadinitiated proceedings througha show cause notice issued to

the bank in May 2021 for thealleged violations of PFUTPrules. In the show cause notice,Standard Chartered Bank wasalleged to have benefitted a pri-vate limited company con-trolled by the promoter groupcompanies, at the expense of alisted company (CG Power) tothe detriment of the interest ofthe minority shareholders ofCG Power.

As per the order, AvanthaInternational Asset BV(AIABV), an entity related tothe promoter group of CGPower and Industrial SolutionsLtd or CG Power, had taken aloan from SCB. In October2017, SCB disbursed a loan of

Euro 44 million to CGInternational BV (CGIBV)which was transferred toAIABV on the same day torepay its earlier loan from SCB.The funds were later frozen bySCB at AIABV.

In February 2018, SCB dis-bursed another loan of Euro 44million to CG IndustrialHoldings Singapore Pte Ltd(CG Singapore') which wastransferred to AIABV on thesame day. On the same day,AIABV returned the fundsreceived from CGIBV whichwere frozen and CGIBV uti-lized these funds for repaymentof the loan taken from SCB inOctober 2017.

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The Reserve Bank onWednesday said it has can-

celled Certificate ofRegistration (CoR) of fiveNBFCs for violation of normsrelated to outsourcing and fairpractices code in their digitallending operations.

Non-Banking FinancialCompanies (NBFCs) whoseCoR stands cancelled are: UMBSecurities Ltd, Anashri Finvest,Chadha Finance, AlexcyTracon, and Jhuria FinancialServices.

"The CoR of the (five)NBFCs have been cancelled onaccount of violation of RBIguidelines on outsourcing and

Fair Practices Code in theirdigital lending operationsundertaken through third partyapps which was considereddetrimental to public inter-est," the RBI said.

It further said these com-panies were also not complyingwith extant regulations per-taining to charging of excessiveinterest and resorted to undueharassment of customers forloan recovery purposes.

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Rajasthan Royals opener JosButtler had no qualms in

admitting that he struggled toget going initially against GujaratTitans in the first qualifier, say-ing sometimes you have to"swallow your ego" and hang inthere without panicking.

This season's Orange Capholder Buttler, who now has 718runs in 15 games, initially failedto time the ball and was 39 offhis first 38 balls.

But the opener shifted gearsin style and smacked another 50off his next 18 deliveries faced tolift RR's total to a challenging188/6.

"I was determined to hangin there. It was a big game for usand we wanted to make sure toput a big score," Buttler said atthe post-match press conferenceafter RR's seven-wicket loss toGT on Tuesday.

"Sometimes you got to swal-low your ego, if you are findingit hard, you are finding it hard.I don't try to force too much,don't panic.

"The opposition would pre-fer me to panic and get out, justtry to hang in there. I knew atsome point I would get away. Itrusted myself. Today, it camelate in the innings," he added.

Buttler also had plenty ofluck go his way as he got tworeprieves in the middle in his 89off 56 balls.

It was Sanju Samson whogave RR a fiery start with his 47off 26 and Buttler said theRoyals skipper took some pres-sure off him.

"Yes I was finding it toughto start with and then Sanjucame in and played well from

ball one. He took a lot of pres-sure off me. I wouldn't say it wasmy most fluent innings but I justtried to hang in there and man-aged to get a little bit away in theend."

The 189-run target provedinsufficient for the Royals asDavid Miller and Hardik Pandyashared a 106-run unbrokenpartnership for the fourth wick-et to seal a win and take GT tothe final in their maiden IPL sea-son. "We just could not breakthat partnership, if we managedto take a wicket and found a wayto break that partnership, itwould have been crucial for us.The deeper they took, the hard-er it became for us.

"But we are still alive in thetournament after finishing in the

top-two, we still got a chance.We're disappointed today, butstill in the tournament," headded.

The Purple Cap-holderYuzvendra Chahal and Indiasenior off-spinner R Ashwin,who have a combined tally of 37wickets this season, were wick-etless and leaked 72 runs againstthe Titans. "Those two guys havebeen outstanding for us this sea-son. It's a tough place for bowlers— spin or pace bowling.

"It's a small ground with afast outfield. A lot of boundariesare available on this particularground. So it is always going tobe tough. There was a bit of dewalso in the second innings," hesaid, throwing his support to thespin duo.

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In his short international career, HardikPandya has seen it all — highs and lows,

injuries, surgery, being embroiled in con-troversies — but he says he faces themwith a smiling face.

Putting behind all these, Pandya hasshone not just as an all-rounder but as aleader, taking an under-rated GujaratTitans to the final in a dream IPL debutseason.

"People always talk, that's their job.I can't help," Pandya said after Titans win.

"The name 'Hardik Pandya' alwayssells. I've no problem with it, I just takeit easy with a smiling face."

After making his international debutin 2016 following his success withMumbai Indians, expectations skyrock-eted with Pandya as he was comparedwith the legendary World Cup-winningIndia skipper Kapil Dev.

In 2019, Pandya was suspended forhis loose talk on women on 'Koffee withKaran'. He later apologised to the inquiry

committee of the BCCI.The 28-year-old star all-rounder

made his last appearance for Indiaagainst Namibia in the T20 World Cupin Dubai on November 8 and then strug-gled to manage his bowling workload

post his back surgery. Released byMumbai Indians, Hardik was picked byGujarat's for �15 crore ahead of this IPLseason. Questions were raised when hewas handed captaincy for a team mak-ing its debut, but Pandya has delivered,

be it with the bat, ball or in his 'CaptainCool' demeanour, much like his mentorMS Dhoni.

"Obviously Mahi bhai has played abig role in my life. He's a dear brother, adear friend, and family to me," Pandyasaid. "...I've learnt a lot of good thingsfrom him. For me, it was more aboutbeing individually strong which I'mreally proud of myself as well how I wasable to manage all the parts."

Mostly coming at number four,Pandya is at the fifth spot in the chart formost prolific batters this season, with 453runs at a 45-plus average and a healthystrike rate of 132.84.

Pandya has also come handy with theball, giving crucial breakthroughs for histeam. He has bowled 26.3 overs so far andtaken five wickets with an economy of7.73. "Before the captaincy as well, Ialways made sure that I approached allthe situations in a cool-headed way.Generally, you make better decisions thatway," he said about his recipe for successin this IPL.

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After helping Gujarat Titans to seal a spot inthe final of the ongoing Indian Premier

League 2022 on Tuesday, star batter David Millersaid continued backing from the team has playeda big role in improving his game in this season.

Miller was the chief creator of GT'sbrilliant great seven-wicket win overRajasthan Royals. David Millerplayed a ballistic knock of 68 from38 balls and captain HardikPandya's 40 off 27 balls guideddebutants GujaratTitans to a

seven-wicketwin over the

inaugural champi-ons Rajasthan Royals

at the Eden Gardens. "I think opportunity,

firstly (what's changed?).I've been given a role, Ifelt extremely backedfrom the outset. My per-sonal game - I'm enjoy-ing my role, I've been

playing for many yearsnow. Understandingmy game a lot better.In high-pressure situ-ations, you tend to go

away from your gameplan but I feel like I'm trying tokeep everything together close tothe game plan", said David Millerin a post-match presentation.

David Miller further saidthat the plus point of IPL is thatyou play for different teams in it.

"There has been a lot of goingwide to me on the off-side, so Idecided actually for the first time tostep across. Backed me and wentwith it. The rest I tried to hit as hardas possible. That's the joys of IPL -you play for different teams, and get

to meet different players," he added.Miller struck five sixes, including

three in the final over when 16 runswere needed in a thrilling chase of 189

as Gujarat Titans became the 3rd team to reachthe final in their debut season.

"It was a new team so there are a few butter-flies here and there. From the first win, everythingsort of aligned. You have to control what you can,can't think too much ahead. Concentrate on yourbreathing, and if it's in your area, you have to cap-italise. We've got a few days off. There's a bus tripback, we'll have a few drinks and celebrate," saidMiller.

Gujarat Titans will now wait to see whoamong Lucknow Super Giants, Royal ChallengersBangalore and Rajasthan Royals meet them in thetitle clash in Ahmedabad on May 29.

��������Chasing a challenging 189-run tar-get, Shubman Gill along with MatthewWade laid a solid foundation striking a 72-run partnership for the second wicket to paveway for a seven-wicket win over RajasthanRoyals here at the Eden Gardens Stadium onTuesday to enter the final of the IPL. The GTopener scored 35 off 21 balls hitting five foursand one six. "Kolkata has always been niceto me, fortunately, it was one of those nightswhere we were on the winning side, happywe are in the final. After Saha got out, we gotoff to a good start in the powerplay, battingin the Eden Gardens is always fun," saidShubman.

Talking about the batting surface and histeam, he said "We expected the surface to bebetter, but the ball was holding a bit and spin-ners were getting a bit of grip on this wick-et. It's a new team but the way the supportstaff and players have come together has beentremendous to watch, we are all really enjoy-ing our cricket."

Shubman further added that he playedwell for Gujarat and had a good season.

"There hasn't been any added pressure onme, I was picked (in the draft) because I havedone well for my earlier franchises, I don'thave to prove anything to anyone, I just hadto contribute to my team and play well forthem. It was nice to watch (from sidelines),a semi-final and your teammates are doingthe job, it was amazing," he added. PTI

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Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva each hita fifty and put on a 102-run partnership to keep

Sri Lanka going strong in the rain-hit second Test againstBangladesh on Wednesday.

Mathews remained unbeaten on 58 after de Silvawent out with the same score to take Sri Lanka to 282-

5 at stumps on the third day, still trailingBangladesh by 83 runs.

Rain washed out entire post-lunch ses-sion but the duo stepped up their scoringrate to make up for lost time, with de Silvastriking nine fours before Shakib Al Hasangot his wicket.

The right-hander, who faced 95 balls, wasinitially given not out on a caught-behindappeal before Bangladesh successfully reviewed.

Mathews, who smashed four fours and asix, was batting with Dinesh Chandimal on 10at stumps.

Bangladesh made early inroads after SriLanka resumed on 143-2, Ebadot Hossain bowl-ing nightwatchman Kasun Rajitha for a duckwith the second ball of the day.

A gem of a delivery from Shakib dismissedDimuth Karunaratne for 80 soon afterwards,with the Sri Lankan skipper adding 10 to hisovernight score.

Shakib tossed the ball up on off-stump andKarunatne went for a drive but saw the flight-ed delivery dip and turn between bat and padbefore crashing into his stumps.

Karunaratne, who was dropped on 37,struck nine boundaries in his 15th Test fifty.

De Silva hit Ebadot for three fours in one overjust before the break after he and Mathews sur-vived a difficult spell from the right-arm pacebowler and Shakib.

Shakib, the most successful bowler forBangladesh so far, has claimed 3-59.

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Bangladesh's Liton Das andSri Lankan veteran Angelo

Mathews have made valuablegains in the ICC Men's TestRankings after fine perfor-mances in the drawn first matchwhile there has been no move-ment in latest top-10 list issuedby the world body.

In the batter's list, MarnusLabuschagne maintained hispole position while India captainRohit Sharma and his predeces-

sor Virat Kohli remained staticat eighth and 10th place respec-tively. Similarly in bowling, PatCummins (901 points) has a 51-point lead over his nearest rivalRavichandran Ashwin, who isfollowed by countryman JaspritBumrah. India's Ravindra Jadejaalso remained on top of the all-rounders' table.

With only Sri Lanka andBangladesh engaged in a WTCseries, it was inevitable thatplayers from those two nationsearned points.

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Hardik says his name ‘always sells, no problem with it’

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I feel extremely backed: Miller afterhis match-winning knock against RR

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Little-known domestic bulwarkRajat Patidar found his hourof fame as his magnificent 49-ball hundred propelled Royal

Challengers Bangalore to an impos-ing 207 for 4 against Lucknow SuperGiants in the IPL Eliminator onWednesday.

Courtesy Patidar's 54-ball-112not out which had 12 fours and sevenhuge sixes, RCB literally knocked thestuffing out of LSG attack withMohsin Khan's superb 1 for 25 prov-ing to be only saving grace.

On a day their famed batting duotrio of Faf du Plessis (0), GlennMaxwell (9) and Virat Kohli (25)failed to enthrall a capacity Edencrowd, RCB's No, 3 played out of hisskin as 90 runs came in fours andsixes off just 19 balls.

While most of the star-studdedRCB batters struggled for timing, the28-year-old looked effortless with hisslices, punches, counter-punches anddrives to tower over the rest.

And to make Patidar's storymore interesting, he wasn't pickedfrom auction this season and joinedthe team after start when a playercalled Luvnith Sisodia was injured.

Had Sisodia been alright, RCB

wouldn't have required services ofPatidar, who made 65,000 at EdenGardens stand on their feet.

He along with Dinesh Karthik(37 not out from 23 balls) put on amatch-turning unbroken partner-ship of 92 runs from 41 balls as RCBscored 84 runs in the last five oversto prop up the total.

First, he showed the glimpses ofhis stroke-making skills to slamKrunal Pandya for three boundariesand one six inside the power-play toovershadow Kohli in a 66-run part-nership from 46 balls.

Having cruised to his half-centu-ry in 28 balls, he took another 21 ballsto reach his maiden hundred in T20s.

He got to the landmark pullingMohsin Khan over square leg with asweet-timing of the bat that summedup his effortless stay at the crease.

RCB lost three key wickets of awell-set Kohli, Maxwell and MahipalLomror in the middle overs to seetheir run-rate drop.

In-form Dinesh Karthik, who hasplayed the role of a finisher to per-fection for RCB this season, also sur-vived some anxious moments againstRavi Bishnoi to start with.

But Patidar turned it around inthe last over Bishnoi when hesmacked the 'googly-man' for three

sixes and two fours in succession inan over that read 1 6 4 6 4 6.

A sloppy LSG also helped hiscause as Patidar, who got reprieveson 59, 72 and 93. After a 40-minutedelayed start due to bad weather,Lucknow got off to a superb startwhen Mohsin got RCB skipper Fafdu Plessis for a golden duck in thefirst over.

Having lost their skipper early, itwas about biding time as Kohil andPatidar opted for a wait-and-watchpolicy before the latter broke loose

against Krunal Pandya in the last overof the power-play.

Patidar slammed Krunal forthree boundaries and one six in anover that yielded 20 runs to make itup for their slow start and cruise to52/1 in six overs.

�����4������� �����Patidar's binder earned him a lot

of praise of social media and takingto Twitter, Master Blaster SachinTendulkar and legendary Indianopener Virender Sehwag hailed him

for playing a match-changing knockfor the Faf du Plessis-led side.

"Serious hitting by Rajat Patidarand nicely supported by@DineshKarthik. It's a great total butgiven how the surface is playing andthe fast outfield, I feel it'll be a closegame. Well played by @rcbtweets inthe first half!," Tendulkar said in histweet. Tendulkar's former TeamIndia teammate Sehwag also shareda special tweet for the middle-orderbatter of the Bangalore-based fran-chise.

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�Rajat Patidar is the first uncappedplayer to score a century in the play-offs/knockouts of the IPL. The pre-vious highest score by an uncappedwas the 94 off 50 balls that ManishPandey scored for Kolkata KnightRiders in the final of the 2014 IPL.

�He scored his century in 49 balls,which is the joint fastest ton scoredby any played in the playoffs orknockouts of the IPL. Patidarequalled the record set byWriddhiman Saha, who scored 115off 55 balls for Kings XI Punjab in

the 2014 IPL final.

�Patidar's 112 not out has helpedhim go past a player who wasrecently inducted in RCB's hall offame. He has surpassed the 89 off 47balls that Chris Gayle scored againstMumbai Indians in 2011.

�This is the third-highest score byan uncapped player in the IPL.Patidar crossed the unbeaten 101that Devdutt Padikkal scored forRCB against Rajasthan Royals lastseason. Manish Pandey is second

while Paul Valthaty tops the list.

�It is also the fifth instance of a play-er scoring a century in theplayoffs/knockouts of an IPL tour-nament. Patidar's 112 not out is alsothe fourth highest score ever in theplayoffs.

�Meanwhile, Patidar and Karthik'sonslaught in the final overs helpedRCB take as many as 88 runs in thedeath overs. That is the most scoredby any team in this period of a matchin the 2022 season.

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Defending champions India need tobeat hosts Indonesia by a huge

margin and hope Japan defeat Pakistanin the other Pool A match for advanc-ing to the knockout stage of the AsiaCup men's hockey tournament here onThursday.

India's fate is not in their ownhands anymore as even a win againstlowly Indonesia will not guaranteethem a knock-out berth. Japan willhave to beat Pakistan to keep India'sfaint hopes alive.

With a draw and a loss, India areplaced third in Pool A behind Japan (6points) and Pakistan (4 points).

Under the guidance of SardarSingh, India fielded a young team inthe tournament alongside a handful ofseniors like Birendra Lakra and SVSunil, who came out of retirements. Butthe senior duo looked well past theirprime if their performances in the twomatches so far are to go by.

India conceded a last minute goalto draw 1-1 against Pakistan in their

tournament opener before beingthrashed by Japan 2-5.

But now, a "next to impossible" taskawaits the Indians as they not only haveto score big against Indonesia but alsohope that Japan beat Pakistan in theother Pool A match on Thursday if theyare to progress to the Super 4 stage.

India have a goal difference ofminus three as against Pakistan's plus13. If Pakistan lose to Japan, India willhave to beat Indonesia by a huge mar-gin to go past their western neighboursin goal difference and advance furtherin the tournament.

Inexperience was the major reasonbehind India's below-par perfor-mances as the young players, mainlydrafted from the last Junior World Cupsquad, are finding it difficult to get ameasure of the level of internationalhockey.

In the two matches so far, theIndians lacked cohesion in the threedepartments — defence, midfield andforwardline.

The Indians lacked a quality play-maker in the midfield, which was evi-

dent from their constant efforts ofbuilding attacks from the centreinstead of using both the flanks morefrequently.

Lakra looked a pale shadow ofhimself in the backline, which hascrumbled big time when put underrelentless pressure.

The forwadline has been wastefulwith the likes of Tokyo OlympianSimranjeet Singh and youngster UttamSingh not having the best of outings.

The lanky and strongly built PawanRajbhar is the only player who haveimpressed with his commitment andstick work in the two matches, creat-ing chances and also scoring a goal.

Penalty corner conversion is anoth-er area where the Indians are strugglingas they lack a quality drag-flicker in theside after veteran Rupinder Pal Singhpulled out at the last minute due to awrist injury.

With the odds staked againstthem, the young Indian players couldbe pepped up to give their best shot onThursday and show they can rise to theoccasion.

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Star India women's football team goalkeeper AditiChauhan feels that the under-17 team is not short on

preparation for the upcoming World Cup despite theabsence of senior nationals in the country since 2019.

India organised its last U-17 National Championshipsin April 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak upset all plans.

But Aditi feels the Indian team is on the right track andwould be one of the sides to watch out for in the U-17Women's World Cup.

"This group has been preparing for this moment forquite some time," Chauhan said in an interview.

"They've been getting regular match time and trainingregularly and hopefully, they'll be able to gain more expo-sure and play more friendlies before the World Cup.

"I am confident that they will put on a fantastic per-formance in front of their home crowd at the World Cup."

India under coach Thomas Dennerby has alreadynamed 33 probables who are currently training inJamshedpur. There have been questions about the selectionpolicies without a national tournament.

"I think India has a lot of potential in their U-17 squadand I have been lucky to play with a few of them.

"The young girls have shown their fighting spirit in theirlast SAFF Cup where they were the champions.

"The players have been practicing together for a longtime and I am sure India will be one of the teams to watchout for," she said.

The tournament is slated from October 17-30 in thefive cities of Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabadand Navi Mumbai.

"The U-17 World Cup is going to be a huge opportu-nity for our girls to play and compete against the best inthe world.

"It is important that we put on a good display becauseall eyes will be on our team from across the world.

"We can demonstrate that women'sfootball in India is progressing on theright path by doing better here," sheadded.

In April last year, Aditi becamethe second Indian woman playerafter Bala Devi to ply her trade out-side India, when she signed a one-year deal with Iceland's thirddivision club HamarHveragerði women'steam.

"We've alsowitnessed thestandard offootball ino t h e rnationsby play-i n ga g a i n s tthem on aregular basis,and it's fair tosay we're not thatfar behind.

"Of course weneed to improve ourgame, but the differencesare little. We have someextremely good players inour ranks, and I'm surewe'll see a lot of Indianplayers playing in foreignleagues in the comingyears," the star goalkeeperfrom Tamil Nadu added.

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Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp has been namedthe League Managers' Association

Premier League Manager of the Year, it wasannounced on Tuesday.

The Reds won both the English LeagueCup and FA Cup, beating Chelsea inpenalty shoot-outs at Wembley on bothoccasions.

But Liverpool lost out on the PremierLeague title to Manchester City by just apoint after both Klopp's men and PepGuardiola's side won their respectivematches on Sunday's final day of a thrillingcampaign.

Klopp, collecting his accolade at theLMA Awards dinner in London on Tuesday,said: "It is a great honour and it was aninsane season.

"The last matchday when only twogames were meaningless and in the rest, weall played for absolutely everything.

"It was not the best outcome for us, butwe are already over it.”

The German, paying tribute to hisbackroom team, added: “When you win aprize like this you are either a genius or youhave the best coaching staff in the world —and I am here with all of my coaching staff,they know how much I appreciate them.”

Klopp also collected the Sir AlexFerguson Trophy, named in honour of thecelebrated former Manchester United boss,which is voted for by the full membershipof managers across all the divisions inEnglish senior football.

"This being voted for by my colleagues

is obviously the most important prize youcan get," Klopp said.

"I don't believe in individual prizes infootball generally, it is a team sport and Iwould be nothing without these boysthere.

“It is all about what we can do togeth-er and what we did together.”

Liverpool may have been denied anunprecedented quadruple by City, but theywill now try to add the Champions Leagueto their impressive trophy haul this seasonwhen they face Real Madrid in a Paris finalon Saturday.

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The UK government onWednesday announced it

had given the green light toTodd Boehly's proposed takeoverof Chelsea football club from thesanctioned Russian oligarchRoman Abramovich.

Secretary of State for Digital,Culture, Media and Sport NadineDorries said she had issued alicence permitting the deal lateon Tuesday, shortly after it wonapproval from the PremierLeague.

"We are satisfied the pro-ceeds of the sale will not benefitRoman Abramovich or othersanctioned individuals," Dorriestweeted.

"Given the sanctions weplaced on those linked to(Vladimir) Putin and the bloodyinvasion of Ukraine, the long-term future of the club can onlybe secured under a new owner,"she said.

A consortium led by Boehly,a co-owner of baseball's LosAngeles Dodgers, had alreadyagreed a record £4.25 billion dealto buy the Premier League clubfrom Abramovich on May 7.

The Premier League said itsapproval hinged on the govern-ment sale licence "and the satis-

factory completion of the finalstages of the transaction".

Officials wanted everythingcompleted on Tuesday soChelsea could meet all registra-tion deadlines for next season'sfootball competitions.

Abramovich put Chelsea onthe market in early March, justbefore he was sanctioned byBritain following Russia's inva-

sion of Ukraine.Completing the purchase

has been a lengthy process dueto government concerns over thepotential for Abramovich toprofit from the sale.

The total value of the dealsmashes the previous record forthe sale of a sports team — $2.4billion for the New York Metsbaseball franchise in 2020.

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Former Grand Slam cham-pions Angelique Kerberand Victoria Azarenkaadvanced to the thirdround of the French Open

on Wednesday.Kerber, who won her first clay

title in six years on the eve of theFrench Open, defeated Frenchwildcard and 2020 junior champi-on Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) asshe seeks the only Grand Slammissing from her collection.

The German 21st seed nextplays Aliaksandra Sasnovich, theBelarusian who knocked out USOpen champion Emma Raducanu3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

"I think the last week wasreally important for me to get thetitle," former number one Kerbersaid of her Strasbourg triumph.

"I had a lot of confidence. It'sgreat to be back here and I hope Ican still play a few more matches.

"When you achieve everythingyou want, you play for the love ofthe game. I just love the sport. Let'ssee how long I can keep playing ata high level."

Azarenka, a two-timeAustralian Open winner, beat 2014Roland Garros semi-f inalistAndrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-6 (7/3). Shemeets Swiss 23rd seed Ji lTeichmann for a place in thefourth round.

����������Greek fourth seed Maria

Sakkari crashed out in the FrenchOpen second round, going down7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) to Czech worldnumber 81 Karolina Muchova.

Sakkari, a 2021 Roland Garrossemi-finalist, is the fifth women'stop-10 seed to lose in the first fourdays at Roland Garros.

Muchova has matched her runto the third round from 12 monthsago and will next play 27th seedAmanda Anisimova, who reachedthe last four in Paris three yearsago.

"It's very special, she's an amaz-ing player. It was a big fight, a lit-tle bit of a test and challenge for me

and I'm happy I took it the way Idid," said Muchova.

The 25-year-old reached thesemi-finals at last year's AustralianOpen and the last eight for the sec-ond time at Wimbledon, but isplaying just her fourth tournamentsince the US Open after strugglingwith an abdominal injury. "It's anamazing feeling I can play againfully."

Sasnovich also said she"respects" the controversial deci-sion of the ATP and WTA to stripWimbledon of ranking points.

That move has prompted anumber of players, including for-mer world number one and four-time Grand Slam title winner

Naomi Osaka, to consider with-drawing from Wimbledon whichstarts on June 27.

Wimbledon chiefs said theATP and WTA decision was "dis-proportionate".

Russian men's star AndreyRublev said the atmosphere in thesport is currently "toxic" whileFrench player Benoit Paire believes"99%" of players want aWimbledon with points.

"I'm sorry for Russia andRussians, but they are the onescausing all the trouble," he said.

Sasnovich said she talks toUkrainian players in the lockerroom.

"I ask them how they feel. We

talk about the war a little bit,"added the world number 47 fromMinsk.

"They have families there. It'sa very bad situation for them. Wetry to live our lives and find thepositives. These are tough times.

"I would have no problem if Ihad to play against a player fromUkraine."

On Wednesday, Sasnovichmade the third round of the FrenchOpen for the first time by stunningUS Open champion and 12th seedEmma Raducanu 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

'�������������>Belarus tennis star Aliaksandra

Sasnovich may be banned fromWimbledon but she insistedWednesday that she opposed theongoing war in Ukraine and sup-ports players from the embattledcountry "100%".

Belarusian players such asSasnovich, compatriot and for-mer world number one VictoriaAzarenka, as well as a host ofRussians including men's worldnumber two Daniil Medvedev,were declared persona non grata byWimbledon in response to theinvasion of Ukraine.

"I wanted to play Wimbledonso much, it's one of my favouritetournaments but I respect thedecision," the 28-year-old said.

"Normally, I speak with someof the Ukraine players. We are not

friends, we are just colleagues butI support them 100%.

"I want the war to finish assoon as possible. I don't supportthe war and am against the vio-lence. I just want peace."

*���� � ����������Indian tennis player

Ramkumar Ramanathan cherishedhis first ever main draw win at aGrand Slam as he combined withAmerican Hunter Reese to beat theGerman team of Daniel Altmaierand Oscar Otte in the men's dou-bles event of the French Open, hereon Wednesday.

Ramkumar, who has madeumpteen attempts to crack a sin-gles main draw of a Grand Slamwithout success, and Reese beattheir rivals 7-6(4) 6-3 in theiropening round of the clay courtmajor.

The 27-year-old Indian hadbroken into the doubles top-100early this year, following his maid-en ATP Tour title win with com-patriot Rohan Bopanna inAdelaide and at home in Pune,competing in the Tata OpenMaharashtra.

Rohan Bopanna and his Dutchpartner Matwe Middelkoop hadprogressed to the second roundwith 6-4, 6-1 win over local wildcards Sascha GueymardWayenburg and Luca Van Assche,on Tuesday.

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Two-time former Wimbledonchampion Andy Murray ofr

Britain on Wednesday said thatthe tournament "will never feellike an exhibition" despite it beingstripped of ranking points overthe ban on Russian and Belarusianplayers.

The decision by the ATP andWTA to remove the sport's mostprestigious tournament of rank-ing points has prompted some

players to say they may skipWimbledon, the year's thirdGrand Slam.

"I'd hazard a guess that mostpeople watching on centre courtWimbledon in a few weeks' timewouldn't know or care about howmany ranking points a playergets for winning a 3rd roundmatch," tweeted Murray.

"But I guarantee they willremember who wins. Wimbledonwill never be an exhibition andwill never feel like an exhibition."

Former world number oneNaomi Osaka has revealed she is"leaning towards not playing"Wimbledon while defendingchampion Novak Djokovic said hewill play despite losing 2,000points.

But Djokovic described it asa "lose-lose situation", and thecontroversy has showed no signsof abating, with several players atthe ongoing French Open liken-ing Wimbledon to a high-profileexhibition event this year.

"I follow golf very closely andhave no idea how many rankingpoints the winner of the theMasters gets," said Murray, whoopted to miss the French Open toprepare for the grass-court season.

"Me and my friends love foot-ball and none of us know or carehow many ranking points a teamgets for winning the FIFA WorldCup.

"But I could tell you exactlywho won the World Cup and theMasters."

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